Star-Crossed
by noblecrescent
Summary: Minerva & the Doctor are now together & ready for their next set of adventures with Donna Noble! However, things get complicated when secrets of Minerva's family are revealed & a certain process is forcefully begun by Minerva. How will Minerva & the Doctor react when they figure out the ultimate secret of the Moontsays? What will Minerva become in the end? *2nd in Monsoon Seasons*
1. A Different Christmas

**_Author's Note:_**

 _Hello! Welcome to the second story of the, tentatively named, Monsoon Seasons. You shall see these stories involve my OC, human, Minerva Souza along with new OC family members/friends later in the chapters. This story will cover the entire season 4 of Doctor Who, and probably the specials as well._

 _If there are new readers that will give this story a try I would recommend going back to the first story ' Next Stop Everywhere' just to get a basis of who Minerva is, her background, and her relationship with the Doctor along with the background of another character: Kaeya. Might get a little confusing if you start right here, just saying :)_

 _Just a reminder, again, for those who have read the last story, this story will no longer follow Minerva's POV and will have certain scenes without Minerva and the Doctor that I deem important to the chapter._

 _Just for visuals, I picture Minerva to look like the actress Victoria Camacho: short height, long straight brown hair with piercing jade-green eyes. She's eighteen years old and was a traveler on her own before she met the Doctor._

* * *

Minerva and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, wanting to clarify where the hell they had landed in. Minerva was actually a bit nervous due to the name _Titanic_ being scrawled over the life preserver. That name hadn't led to good events...

The pair stepped out into a supply closet, the Doctor closing the door of the TARDIS, wiping his hands and taking Minerva's to lead them out. He wasn't quite used to holding her hand so openly and so he hoped he wasn't pushing her or making her a tad uncomfortable. But as they entered a new room decorated for Christmas with crowded people dressed for a fancy occasion, Minerva gasped at the sight and pulled him by their interlaced hands to a window. .

She didn't mind one bit.

"This is outer space!" she exclaimed, blinking as she looked out the window.

"Right..." the Doctor mumbled as he took a turn at the window.

 _"Attention all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human."_

~0~

Minerva fixed the last of her dress before stepping inside the console room, about to call she was done when she heard the low grumbles of the Doctor. The Martian stood with his back to her, beside the console, his arms seeming to be fixing something on his front.

"Anything the matter?" she asked shyly as she made her way over.

The Doctor turned around, gesturing to his undone bowtie, "I don't like them," he declared, about to make a whole lecture on why he would never ever wear a bow tie despite what she had once told him about his future self...until he _really_ saw Minerva.

Minerva noticed his look lingering on her and shifted nervously, tugging on a side of her dress, "Martha usually helped me fix myself for you," she began her excuse over her appearance, "She was the eyes behind my back," she tried looking over her shoulder for any flaw she could've missed.

"No, you look...wow," the Doctor whispered, his eyes trailing her over.

Minerva wore a laced black dress with three-three-quarter sleeves. The dress went above her ankles and was quite simple in reality. There was a lace cover, nearly like a sheath, that formed a deep V-neckline while the dress's under layer covered her chest. She accompanied the dress with beige stilettos. Her hair was left down, only two braids connecting in the back with a beige ribbon tied as a bow.

"Thank you," Minerva mumbled, her face flushed, "Do you need help with that?" she pointed to the Doctor's unfinished bow tie.

"Uh, yes," he blinked, remembering how uncomfortable Minerva had been when that Zian had trailed her with his eyes. He most definitely did not want to make her feel like that again.

"It's your unlucky suit," she remarked, a playful hint in her tone.

"Yeah, I'm really hoping we can break that cycle this time round."

"Perhaps we can, you look really good," she said shyly, focusing on his bowtie, "It's funny, you know," she started speaking again, her face refusing to be any other color than red, "I would think you'd be good at tying your own ties, even if they were bow ties."

"I'm a bit nervous," he confessed.

"Of what?"

"Us...this ship...but mostly us."

"Well I'm not gonna bite, if that's what you're worried over."

"You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"I don't know, maybe if I get really crossed I may get a fly swatter," she playfully warned and earned a laugh.

~0~

The pair walked through the reception room of the ship, hand in hand, both studying the surroundings. There was a band ahead, playing ' _Winter Wonderland_ '.

"Merry Christmas, sir, ma'am," a steward passed by.

"Merry Christmas!" Minerva exclaimed after him, the feeling of Christmas doing really well for her after such a horrible year...even if it never technically happened.

They walked into the room from earlier, where people were mingling about while waiters served and the band played. They passed a rather loud man, Rickston Slade, who was talking into a mobile, "It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone. Now do as I say and sell."

"That's not very nice," Minerva watched the man go, "...just like mom and dad."

"C'mon," the Doctor tugged her into a different direction, any thoughts of her parents would make her upset and that is something he would not stand for anymore. They approached a robot, golden angel dressed in a white robe with a halo, "Evening. Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be..."

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information."

"Good, so, um... tell me - 'cause I'm an idiot - where are we from?"

Minerva giggled, covering her mouth so she wouldn't interfere.

"Information: the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures.

Minerva cleared her throat, finishing up her giggle, this being a serious matter to her, "So the 'Titanic', huh...who exactly thought of that name?"

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"Did they tell them _why_?"

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, president of Max - Max - Max..." the Host started malfunctioning, repeating its last words until its voice became higher in pitch.

"Ooh, bit of a glitch," the Doctor reached into his pocket for the screwdriver.

A chief steward hurried over to the pair, "Sir, ma'am, we can handle this," he waved for assistance and two more stewards arrived to take the Host away, "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas," he followed the other two employees, "That's another one down. What's going on with these things?"

"Hm, see this is why ships aren't called the Titanic anymore...they start malfunctioning..." Minerva shook her head, stopping when she noticed the Doctor looking at her with a fond smile, "...what?"

"You're really adorable, do you know that?"

"...my grandparents used to tell me that," she shrugged, her cheeks turning to a pink tinge, "Plus uncle Aaron."

"Would you care for a dance?" he stepped up to her, one hand behind his back and the other offering to her.

"You know how to dance now?"

"I always danced for you, to make you feel better," he took her hand, "Now I do it because it's our date, our _first_ date."

"Oooh, I like the sound of that," she immediately grinned.

"So do I," he led her over to the dance floor where several couples were dancing.

They positioned themselves as usual and started to dance, the Doctor actually doing a decent job. Perhaps John Smith had seeped a little through _him_.

He dipped Minerva, grinning proudly at the fact she was blushing deep red again, "You know, I should've done this the last couple of times we've danced..."

"Done what?" she whispered.

He raised his eyebrows, his playful grin fading as he pressed his lips onto hers, slowly bringing them back up, their kiss continuing without a break.

Before Minerva felt herself get really lost into the kiss, she pulled away, feeling so hazy, "Wow...yeah, that would've been nice."

"My beautiful complexion," he reminded, thinking of the 1950's and even the guinguette.

"Ugly complexion," she corrected sadly.

"Nah, I see beauty both inside and out. And your complexion has made you stronger, cliche or not."

"What about you?"

'What about me?"

"Well, you're certainly complex...and... _very_ good looking," she breathed, her blush deepening, "Has it made you stronger?"

"Fair game, clever girl," he conceded, "But...maybe not stronger, but it's definitely added perspective to my life. I've lost so much and it's made me realize that I can't waste time. I may have all the time in the world but it's nothing if I'm gonna be alone for it."

"I'm here, and I can promise you I will always try to be there...for as long as I can."

He smiled, however a sad one. _Time_ would be a mighty strong issue for them...but he didn't want to think about it, at least not right now. Not when, after such a horrible, dark year had passed, or technically hadn't, there was finally something, _someone_ , that made it all better.

"Doctor, I know this is off topic and all...but I just have to ask," Minerva bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't ruin this date...and potentially her relationship.

"Ask away," he grinned.

"You're really going to help Kaeya, right?"

His grin faded and he looked down at her, "Why are you asking me that?"

"Because I want to make it clear that I won't stand in the way or make one of those jealous girlfriend scenes if you're going to help her. I don't want you to go back on your word just for me. _I_ want to help her too."

"I'm going to help her, I promise," he nodded.

"And...if you still have a lingering feeling for her, well...it may be best to get that out in the open."

"Are you doubting my feelings for you?" he stepped back, their dance cut off.

"It's not _doubt_ ," she continued with nervousness, "I know you feel something for me but put yourself in my shoes. I spent a year thinking, debating what your feelings were for me...what they were for Rose and Kaeya. I just want you to be sure of yourself because when Kaeya comes back, she's gonna want to be with you and I don't want my heart broken...I don't think I deserve that."

He sighed deeply, understanding Minerva's feelings. He beat himself up for all the pain he caused her throughout the last year, and even the year before where he practically ignored her. She didn't have an easy life and looking at it now, _he_ made it even _more_ complicated. He added death threats, confusion, emotional pain; that was all him. But he knew, he was sure of what he wanted. He wanted...Minerva. Kaeya, she was still apparently the woman he met centuries ago, only sick, and what they had was something he would never forget. She was his first love and sure, it may not be entirely erased but it wasn't like he loved her anymore. He had a soft spot for her, but he wanted Minerva. Even before thinking of Kaeya he felt more inclined to Minerva, _especially_ after 1913. He didn't want to leave her side, he wanted to make sure she was always alright, and most certainly _happy_. But beyond that, he wanted to be with her at all times.

When Kaeya returned, he would help her, but that would be it. He would still be friends but...that was all he could offer.

He reached for Minerva's hand, reconnecting them for a dance, "I know it's hard to trust me and my feelings, I get it. But I want you, no, I _need_ you, to understand who I choose. Without realizing it, my hearts had already chosen _you_...my mind was just a bit slower."

"Twenty-six more brains than I and you're slower?"

"When it's about you then yes," he nodded, "But listen to me, I won't _ever_ break your heart. Because if I do, I will personally throw myself into a black hole."

"It's _me_ , then?" she asked meekly, "You chose me?"

"You're clever, listen to my words carefully," he pressed his forehead onto hers.

"And when Kaeya returns?"

"She'll receive our help and I'll set things straight."

"What if she's not happy? I wouldn't be..."

"There's not much I'd be able to do for her then," he shrugged.

"I'm really glad to hear all this," she admitted, nervously smiling, "You pick _me_..."

He cupped her face and smiled, "Of course I pick you, clever girl," he gave her a kiss to prove his words had been real.

~0~

A young blonde waitress, Astrid, accidentally bumped into Rickston Slade, and dropped her tray of drinks.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going! This jacket's a genuine Earth antique," Rickston growled, looking down at his wet shirt.

"I'm sorry, sir," Astrid got down to pick up the shards of broken glass from the floor.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart. Staffed by idiots. No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain."

"Hey, that's no way to speak someone," Minerva walked over, the man almost scoffing there was a second woman trying to annoy him, "It's Christmas."

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, "The woman dropped her drinks on me!"

"It was an accident. And my name is Minerva, you don't have to take that tone with me," she crossed her arms, "You do better if you speak in a proper manner."

"I am one of the most important people you'll ever meet, sweetheart," he sneered, "And _you_ would do best to shut the hell up!" Minerva flinched at his high voice, "Do you know who I am?"

"No, but do you wanna know who _I_ am?" the Doctor cut in angrily, walking in front of Minerva, "I'm gonna be the one to shut you up if you talk to my girlfriend like that again. Now vamoose."

"But she's the one that-"

"I said, _leave_ ," the Doctor stepped up, gritting his teeth. He was not gonna let some snooty humanoid alien yell at his clever girl. He knew she was more than capable of defending herself, seeing as she had spent so much time on her own, but now _he_ was her boyfriend and he would defend her from people like that man.

Rickston huffed and walked off, giving Minerva a nasty glare.

The Doctor watched the man go, turning around only when he was sure Rickston was truly gone, "Minerva?" she gave him a hug, nodding her thanks, "Miss?" he looked at the waitress, she looking up from her mess.

"Thank you both," Astrid said, "I didn't mean to cause trouble, honest. I was walking and I tripped, and..." she sighed, this would certainly put a dent in her job's lifespan.

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault," Minerva let go of the Doctor and helped her pick up the remaining glass from the floor.

"Oh n-no, no, this is my job," Astrid tried to shoo Minerva's hands away.

"Please, if I didn't let the maids at my house serve me, what makes you think I'm gonna allow it _now_?" Minerva shook her head, smiling at the thought of her actually letting someone serve her, "I don't think so!" she set the last of the glass on the tray and stood up, Astrid following.

"That's quite a change from all the passengers I've served," Astrid confessed, sheepishly.

"You'll come to realize my girlfriend is not like anyone else you've met," the Doctor announced, rather proudly as he wound an arm around Minerva's waist. He wasted time in realizing that as well, he would make everyone see it on the first spot.

"I see that," Astrid nodded, seeing Minerva blush at the remarks.

"I'm the Doctor," he held out his free hand for the blonde.

"Astrid Peth," she shook his hand.

"Minerva Souza," the brunette held her hand out as well, Astrid nodding and shaking it next, "Merry Christmas, by the way. Hope someone's told you that before us."

Astrid chuckled at the nonsense, "No, no one ever really does."

"Well, here's a second time around, Merry Christmas."

"Thank you ma'am."

"Oh please don't," Minerva shook her head, glancing up at the Doctor, "Ma'am makes me feel old."

"That's how I feel when they call me 'sir'," he grimaced.

"You enjoying the cruise?" Astrid asked the two.

"We think it's lovely," Minerva replied, glancing around, "I've never actually been on a cruise. And it's a shame cause if it ever drowned, I would be the first to survive."

The Doctor chuckled, "Cause that doesn't sound conceited!"

"What? It's not my fault I'm a good swimmer! Coach said I could've made to the Olympics if I wanted."

"You had a coach?"

"Yeah, that was the one good thing my parents did for me. They let me take swimming classes. I was really good!"

Astrid glanced from one to another, highly amused at their lack of attention span. They acted like she wasn't currently there and not in a bad way either. They seemed so focused on each other, so...inclined to each other.

"I'd like to see you then," the Doctor nudged her, "The TARDIS sure won't hide the swimming pool from you."

"She's angry with you, you shouldn't hit her with a hammer," Minerva rolled her eyes, by chance seeing Astrid again and remembering where they currently stood, "Oh, I am so sorry Astrid! We didn't mean to ignore you, really, we're sorry," she _never_ wanted to make anyone feel like they've been ignored, and Astrid seemed so nice that she was most definitely on that list.

"No worries, maa..." she paused as Minerva gave her a sharp look, reminding her of the name she was supposed to use, "...Minerva. No worries, _Minerva_."

Minerva nodded, "So are you liking the cruise? If I do remember the lessons," she glanced at the Doctor, recalling his many lessons of the great outerspace, "Planet Sto is quite far from Earth."

"Oh, it doesn't feel that different. I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, traveled all the way here...and I'm still waiting on tables," Astrid gestured to her tray and walked away, stopping by a table near a window.

"No shore leave?" the Doctor asked, the pair following her.

"We're not allowed. They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamt of...It sounds daft."

"Believe me, I've always dreamt of traveling the world. One could say I'm making it..." Minerva smiled, resting her head on the Doctor's arm.

"You dreamt of another sky. New sun, new air, new life. A whole universe teeming with life. Why stand still when there's all that life out there?" the Doctor smiled, bringing the brunette closer to him, both thinking the same way of their travels, of their lives.

"So...I take it you two travel a lot, then?" Astrid guessed with full certainty it was that way.

"All the time. Just for fun," Minerva replied.

"Well, that's the plan. Never quite works..." the Doctor sighed.

"Must be rich, though," Astrid said.

"Haven't got a penny," the Doctor whispered, Astrid's eyes widening, "But _she's_ loaded," he nodded to Minerva.

"I'm not 'loaded'," Minerva crossed her arms, "My parents do have a good economical status...but that's _them_. I'm just Minerva, the stowaway."

Both smiled at each other, Astrid standing there awkwardly until they finished up their little moment, "How did you get on board?" she asked. She knew there was tons of security around the ship. How did those two manage to sneak in?

"Accident. We've got this, sort of, ship thing. I was just rebuilding her. Left the defenses down, bumped into the Titanic. Here we are. Bit of a party, I thought "Why not have a first date here?" the Doctor smiled at Minerva.

"I should report you two," Astrid looked between them, the thought never crossing her mind.

"Go ahead and try," Minerva smirked, knowing she wouldn't do it.

"I'll get you a drink..." she declared instead, leaning forwards and whispering, "...on the house," and she walked off.

"She seems lovely," Minerva remarked and turned to the Doctor, "And thank you, by the way."

"For what?" he frowned, what had he done now?

"For defending me against that snooty man," she reminded, "It was awfully nice hearing you say 'girlfriend' several times."

"Well that's what you are to me," he stepped closer, "Um...I mean...if you'd _like_ to be..." it had occurred to him that while they did establish a relationship, he hadn't technically asked her if she _wanted_ to be called his girlfriend.

She leaned up, only having to do it slightly with the heels she was wearing, and pecked his lips, "I think it's fantastic. I've got a boyfriend for the first time in my life."

"First kiss, first boyfriend..." the Doctor beamed, "...I'm off to a good start!"

"Wonder what else you might be the first of..." she smirked and winked, walking off.

It took the Doctor several minutes to realize her implication and when the light bulb went on...he blushed like a tomato!

~0~

Morvin and Foon Van Hoff sat at their table, trying to ignore a group of first-class passengers on the next table who were laughing and pointing at them due to their dress attire. It wasn't their fault they had fallen for a trick that said they had to use country-western outfits.

"Just ignore 'em," Movrin said to his wife.

"What's going on with them?" Minerva plopped herself on the chair beside Morvin, the Doctor sitting beside her.

"Yeah, something's tickled them," the Doctor agreed.

"They told us it was fancy dress. Very funny, I'm sure," Foon rolled her eyes.

"They're just pickin' on us because we haven't paid. We won our tickets in a competition," Morvin explained.

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in "By the Light of the Asteroid". Did you ever watch..."

"Is that the one with the twins?" the Doctor asked.

"That's it. Oh, it's marvelous," Foon laughed.

"Probably not good enough for that lot," Morvin sighed, motioning to the laughing crowd, "They think we should be in steerage."

"Well, that's not nice," Minerva glanced back at the passengers.

"Certainly can't have that," the Doctor reached into his pocket, Minerva smirking when she realized. He held the sonic at his side and aimed it behind him. The champagne of the passenger's table popped its cork and sprayed them all.

"Did-did you do that?" Foon asked the Doctor, blinking as she looked from him to the passengers.

"Maybe," he shrugged and put away his screwdriver.

"Oh, we like you," she said.

"That makes three," Minerva sighed with content. He beamed and pecked her lips.

"I'm Morvin van Hoff," the man reached and shook the Doctor's hand, "This is my good woman, Foon," he gestured to his wife as he moved on to shake Minerva's hand.

"Foon. Hello, I'm the Doctor," he shook her hand, "This is my lovely girlfriend, " oh yes, he will definitely love to say that from now on, "Minerva Souza."

"Nice to meet you," Minerva shook Foon's hand.

"Pretty little thing," Foon smiled, "Although you could use some more meat on you, have a buffalo wing."

Minerva chuckled, "No thank you."

"Attention please. Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7," a man's voice called from a distance.

Foon took out a ticket, "Red 6-7. That's us," she stood up followed by Morvin, "Are you Red 6-7?"

"Oooh, can we?" Minerva looked at the Doctor.

"This whole not able to deny you anything is gonna get me into trouble, I can see it," he shook his head, yet smiled nonetheless at her beam, "C'mon!"

"Come on," Morvin put an arm around Foon, "We're going to Earth."

"Heeey..." Minerva's head lulled to the Doctor's, her eyes sparking with an idea, "...want to add a third person to this trip?"

"Who?" the Doctor looked around, they didn't quite know anyone around the ship.

"I've got you that drink," Astrid showed up with two glasses for the pair.

"Oooh," the Doctor nodded with realization, "Oh yeah, sure!"

Minerva clapped her hands excitedly, "We've got a treat for you!" she announced to the blonde, taking her tray and setting it on the table, "Starts with 'Planet' and ends with 'Earth'," she linked arms with Astrid and walked away, the Doctor following behind.

"Red 6-7 departing shortly," Mr. Copper announced as a crowd of passengers gathered around him.

"Red 6-7 plus two," the Doctor held up his psychic paper.

"Uh, quickly, sir, and please take two teleport bracelets if you would," he passed out three of the bracelets to them.

"But I'll get the sack," Astrid whispered to the pair.

"Brand new sky," Minerva said, handing her the bracelet.

"To repeat, I am Mr Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now human beings worshiped the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary. And every Christmas Eve the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner... like savages."

Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me? I don't eat _turkey_ for Christmas...much less Turkey _people_."

"Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but, um...where did you get all this from?" the Doctor asked, making a face at that 'history'.

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics. Now stand by..."

"I smell bullshit," Minerva mumbled.

"Language," the Doctor gave her a sharp look.

She leaned up and gently kissed him, "I think you'll come to realize I can say what I want."

"Sure," he whispered, wishing she'd give him another as proof of that.

She chuckled, "Men."

"And me! And me! Red 6-7!" a high pitched voice rang through the crowd, a small red-skinned with short spikes on its head alien pushed its way through the crowd.

"Well, take a bracelet, sir?" Mr. Copper handed a bracelet to the alien.

"That won't be good," Minerva's eyes widened.

"Uh, but, um, hold on, hold on. What was your name?" the Doctor was mildly concerned for the alien's fate if seen by the humans.

"Bannakaffalatta."

"OK, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there. Late-night shopping, tons of people. He's like a walking conker. No offence, but you'll cause a riot 'cause the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties..."

...but they were beamed down to the Earth.

The group arrived on an empty, London street in the dark night.

"Huh..." Minerva looked around, confused by the solidarity of the streets.

"Now, spending money," Mr. Copper turned to the group, "I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets or, uh, stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as "beef" but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now they start boxing."

"That is seriously _wrong_ ," Minerva crossed her arms, noticing the Doctor still looking around, poor thing confused of the loneliness of the streets.

"It should be full. It should be busy. Something's wrong."

Astrid, meanwhile, looked around in awe, "But it's beautiful."

"Well this is just a street," Minerva shrugged, "Quite deserted by the looks of it..." she mumbled the last part.

"But it's a different planet. I'm standing on a different planet. Th-there's concrete...and shops, alien shops, real alien shops! Look, no stars in the sky. And it smells. It stinks!" Astrid gasped, "This is amazing! Thank you!" she hugged Minerva.

"Well technically, _you're_ the alien here," Minerva pulled away.

"You're human?" Astrid blinked, stunned at the fact, "Proper human?"

"Yeah, I just happen to be with an alien who snuck us in."

"Amazing! Can we go to the alien shop? Er, I mean shop?"

"Well, I guess we could take a look," Minerva tugged on the Doctor's hand, "Unless you want to keep looking at the solitude."

'I'd rather look at you," he admitted without thinking, immediately blushing when he realized.

"Oh, I like that," she chuckled, swinging their locked hands as they led Astrid to a newsstand across the street.

"Hello there! Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?" the Doctor asked the elderly man of the stand, all bundled up with winter clothes.

"Oh-ho, scared!"

"Right, yes. Scared of what?"

"Where have you been living? London at Christmas? Not safe, is it?"

"Why?"

"Well, it's them, up above," the man pointed up to the sky, "Look, Christmas before last we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof," he pointed at the small TV that was showing a clip, "And then last year, that Christmas Star electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

"This place is amazing," Astrid sighed with content.

"And this year, Lord knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me...and Her Majesty," the man stood up proudly and looked at the TV.

 _Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear._

 **"** God bless her!" the man saluted, "We stand vigil."

"Well, between you and me, I think her Majesty's got it right. Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about," the Doctor declared.

"Cause this time the man responsible is on a date," giggled Minerva.

"Oh ha ha," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "You know, you've been involved in all-"

But the trio were teleported back to the ship, leaving the newsstand man gaping at their disappearance, "Then again..." he slumped back to his seat.

"...the events too, Minerva," the Doctor finished now in the ship again, "Oi, I was in mid-sentence," he said to Mr. Copper.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets..." Mr. Copper reached for them.

A chief steward joined them, "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, we seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."

The group then started disbanding.

"That was the best, the best!" Astrid gave another hug to Minerva before she returned to her work.

The Doctor walked over to the chief steward, Minerva following, "What sort of power fluctuation?"

But the chief steward walked away.

"Oh you know there's something wrong," Minerva crossed her arms.

~0~

Midshipman Frame was watching the meteoroids in the ship's bridge, "That's a bit odd, sir, the meteoroids are changing course. Still, we can put the shields up to maximum just in case."

"As you were, Midshipman," the captain instructed.

Midshipman Frame looked over and saw the captain pushing buttons on an instrument panel, "Sir? You're magnetizing the hull, sir. It's drawing the meteors in."

"Port turning Earthside."

"I take it that's deliberate..." Midshipman Frame frowned.

"Port turning Earthside."

"Bit of a light show for the guests?" he tried, none of it making sense, but still...

"Something like that," the captain mumbled, continuing his work.

~0~

Back in the reception room, everyone was having a dandy time. The Van Hoff's were eating at their table, Rickstone Slade was winning at roulete, Bannakaffalatta was dancinng and Astrid was busy serving, flashing smiles to the Doctor and Minerva.

The Doctor put on his glasses and took out his screwdriver to use on the frame. Minerva joined him, a drink in her hand, "You know now that we're together I can say this freely," she began to say and he looked up at her, "You look adorable in those glasses."

He beamed, "Oh really? I thought you weren't a fan of them."

"I like geeks," she grinned, recalling Martha's words, "And I like you and all your weird traits. Hm, attraction between geeks really _is_ very weird."

"I don't think you're a geek," he leaned over to kiss her, cupping her cheek as he pulled away, "You're just clever. And I love it."

She blushed, "I like you too."

 _"The fastest, the furthest, the best...my name is Max."_

The Doctor returned to work on the frame, finally opening it only a few seconds later. He changed a few of the settings until the screen showed the Titanic and its surrounding, "Oh no..." his eyes widened, the shields had been turned down!

"What? What is it?" Minerva asked, leaning forwards to get a better viewer.

He ignored her and ran to the window, seeing the meteors approaching. He glanced back at Minerva, his hearts beating for concern...for _her_.

~0~

Back in the ship's main bridge, a communications whistle sounded, followed by the Doctor's voice, "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in West 0 by North 2."

"Who is this?" the captain asked.

"Never mind that. Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and now shielding!"

"You have no authorization. You will clear the comms at once."

~0~

"Yeah? Just look starboard!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Doctor!" Minerva's voice made him turn around, watching her being "escorted" by two stewards. She had been left with the task of keeping watch...and that hadn't gone so well.

"You let her go right now!" the Doctor left the comms and stormed for them.

"Come with us, sir," the steward took him into custody as well.

~0~

"But he's right, sir. The shields have been taken offline," Midshipman Frame went to an instrument panel.

"Step away from there," the captain ordered.

"But we have to re-energize them."

"I said step away, Midshipman."

Midshipman Frame looked up to see the captain aiming a gun at him.

~0~

"You've gotta listen!" Minerva struggled with the steward's grasp, she and the Doctor being hauled away through the reception room.

"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!" the Martian argued.

~0~

"They promised me old men," the captain explained to the Midshipman.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"On the crew. Sea dogs, men who'd had their time. Not boys."

~0~

The Doctor managed to break free from the stewards, forcing himself to leave Minerva for a couple seconds so he could warn the other passengers. He ran up to the stage where the band was playing, "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb -" a Host covered his mouth and pulled him away.

"Let us go!" Minerva tried kicking but in vain.

~0~

"I'm sorry, sir. It's my duty!" Midshipman Frame reached for the panel when the captain fired at him.

~0~

The Doctor and Minerva were taken out of the room, the stewards having to use more force on the Doctor than the brunette, "Look out the windows!" the Doctor shouted to a group where Rickston was present in.

Astrid, Rickston, and the Van Hoffs slowly made their way to the windows. Even Bannakaffalatta excused himself from a conversation to go and see, "Them, friends," he went over to the windows.

Rickston's eyes widened when he saw the meteoroids growing closer.

"If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!" the Doctor continued to shout.

"Sir, I can vouch for him!" Astrid started following them.

"Look, Steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink," Morvin tried, also following.

"Sir, something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports are down," Mr. Copper joined in.

"Now now!" the chief steward waved them off.

~ 0 ~

Back with Rickston, he stepped back as a small rock broke through a window and landed in front of his feet.

 _"Oxygen membrane holding. Oxygen membrane holding."_

Rickston turned to a Host nearby, "You there. Has anyone checked the external shielding?"

"Information: you are all going to die."

He ran over to a steward, "Where's the Chief Steward?"

"That way, sir."

~0~

The chief steward was taking the Doctor and Minerva down the maintenance corridors, Astrid, Mr. Copper, Bannakaffalatta and the Van Hoffs following after them.

" The shields are down, we are going to get hit!" the Doctor frantically insisted.

Not only were they about to be hit, but he had just promised Minerva that nothing would hurt her...and yet here they were.

Why would he _ever_ think a date on a **_Titanic_** would be a good idea?

~0~

Midshipman Frame laid on the floor with a gunshot on his abdomen, "You're going to kill us."

"I'm dying already. Six months. And they offered me so much money... for my family," the captain explained.

~0~

Rickston had caught up with the others in the maintenance corridors, demanding from the steward, "Oi! Steward! I'm telling you the shields are down!"

"Listen to him! Listen to him!" the Doctor said.

~0~

The captain remained at the wheel...

 _"Red Alert. Red Alert."_

~0~

Outside the ship, the meteoroids were heading straight for them...

~0~

The meteoroids struck the side of the ship, everyone inside thrown onto the floor.

~0~

Hosts lined up in front of employees...ready to kill.

~0~

Minerva banged straight onto a wall, her head making the first, and possibly the worst, contact, "Ow!"

"I've got you!" the Doctor pulled her to him as soon as he could reach for her, "It's okay..."

...he didn't really know if it was okay.

The panels were becoming undone and falling down, possibly hurting the others. But it was finally coming to a slow halt, the Doctor the first to get up with Minerva at his side, "It's stopping..." he looked around, hearing the ship groan a bit as it finally did stop.

"I wrest my case about the Titanic," Minerva mumbled, her head pounding a bit.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor checked her, seeing the bow on her hair tainted at its edges with red. He quickly checked her head, finding a cut that didn't look _too_ bad, but yet...

...there was a _cut_...with a _blood_...on his _date_...his _girlfriend_...

"It's just a small cut," she sensed his oncoming guilt. She reached for her bow and tugged it off, seeing the red blotches on it, "Nothing to worry about."

"But you're..."

"Okay," she smiled up at him, "There's more people to worry about right now."

He sighed, "This is a really bad name for a ship..." then he glanced at his suit and frowned, "Either that or this suit is really unlucky."

"Still look amazing in it though," Minerva mumbled, thinking she hadn't been heard.

He had to smirk, "Well..." he cleared his throat, "Is everyone else alright?" he moved over to a steward who laid on the floor and checked his vitals, "He's dead."

The chief steward stood and walked up to the surviving group, "Ev-everyone... Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners. We seem to have had a small collision."

The Doctor walked over to a comms panel.

"Small?" Morvin scoffed, the whole ship had been blasted and this was _small_?

"You know how much I paid for my ticket?" Rickston demanded.

"Does this really come to money?" Minerva frowned, disgusted at the fact that was _all_ he cared for.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen..." the steward tried again.

"Again, who the hell are you!?" Rickston demanded.

"I am gonna be the first human to knock you out."

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen..." but the rest of group, save Minerva and the Doctor, started arguing, "Quiet!" he shouted and they stopped, "Thank you. I-I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive."

"Are you all right?" Astrid turned over to Mr. Copper, helping him with a cut on his head.

The Doctor joined the group, putting his arm around Minerva's waist, the woman still glaring daggers at Rickston. He wanted to prevent another injury from happening. Minerva seemed alright to him, despite her affection insecurities, but he wasn't sure how the whole Master and Kaeya really affected her and he wanted to be there in case she cracked or anything. He'd have to run certain tests after this date to see just how much she'd really been affected.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship. If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the - the situation," the chief steward went to open a hatch.

"Don't open it!" the Doctor exclaimed, but it was too late.

The chief steward was sucked put into space by the vacuum. Everyone grabbed onto a piping near them before they were pulled out as well. The Doctor struggled and made his way to the comms where he used the screwdriver on the computer to replace the shield.

 _"Oxygen shield stabilized."_

"Everyone all right? Minerva?" he quickly turned back to her.

"Yeah," she nodded, pulling on the side of her dreSs.

"Astrid? Foon? Morvin? Mr Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," the little red alien answered.

"You, What was your name?" the Doctor turned to Rickston, trying his best to be polite but the fact the man had repeatedly yelled at Minerva wasn't helping.

"Ah, Rickston Slade."

"You all right?"

"No thanks to that idiot."

"The steward just died," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Then he's a dead idiot."

"That's it!" the brunette stepped forwards.

"Okay! Why don't you come with me, yeah?" the Doctor quick pulled her away from the group and brought them to the hatch opening.

"I don't like him!" she grumbled.

"I think we've noticed," he patted her back.

"Sorry, missing the big picture here. What happened? How come the shields were down?"

"I don't think it was an accident," he sighed, "And there goes our nice, first date."

She smiled softly, "Hey, what's a date without some adrenaline?"

"Minerva, I'm sorry...I'll get us out of this, I promise."

"Oh, I don't doubt you will. You always do."

"You trust me just like that?" the Doctor asked, a bit perplexed at her calm manner despite nearly dying.

"Doctor, there's something you should know: I trust you with my life."

He blinked, "Really?"

She nodded, "You don't have to promise me anything, I know you'll do it. In a stupid, moronic way...but you'll do it. Just like always."

"Good," he nodded, smiling brightly, loving he had all her trust despite the many trips gone wrong they had taken, "And this won't be the exception!"

She pecked his lips, "No it won't."

"All we need to do is get to the Reception room," he swung his arm around her shoulders, turning to a window in front of them, "We can take everyone on board and...oh."

Minerva just smiled, the TARDIS floating outside, "Like I said, you'll get us out of here in a stupid, moronic way, but we'll get out!"

"Is something wrong?" Astrid stepped over, seeing their attention locked on the window.

"That's my spaceship over there," the Doctor pouted, Minerva giggling to the side.

Astrid peered into the window, frowning when saw just a blue box, " _That's_ a spaceship?"

"Oi, don't knock it," the Doctor scolded.

"It's a bit small..." she tilted her head, "...aren't you a bit cramped?" but she glanced over to the pair and saw them quite close and together, "Right," she smiled, only thinking of what that box could provide for them, "It's your snogging box."

"It's not," the Doctor shot her a look.

Minerva looked around, playing innocent, "Well we haven't exactly tried it yet," she mumbled, attracting his attention in a snap, her cheeks flushing pink, "We haven't exactly 'snogged','" she whispered to him, her gaze stuck on her playing fingers.

"Ooh..." he looked back to the window, his face flushing red at the thought of actually _snogging_ her. That...that could be nice...

Astrid smirked, you could just tell those two were barely beginning their relationship by the amount of times they blushed, "So, um...that blue box?" she reminded them.

"Oh, yes, well," the Doctor cleared his throat, "It's a bit distant now. Trouble is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be...the Earth."

"We've got a long journey to do," Minerva slipped under the Doctor's arm on her shoulders and walked over to a comms.

"Where to?" Astrid asked, the Doctor following her.

"Well, up to the main bridge of course, that's where you steer the ship, aka, our way of getting back to earth and getting the TARDIS."

"Clever!" the Doctor dropped a kiss to Minerva's head.

"I try to be," she shrugged, looking at the other guests, "And we promise we'll get you out of here," she told them, seeing their worried faces, well, really only focusing on the Van Hoffs and Mr. Copper, Rickston could bite it.

""Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?" the Doctor called.

~ 0 ~

Midshipman Frame moaned and clutched his side, reaching for the comms, "This is the bridge."

"Oh hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain..." Midshipman Frame looked over to the captain's body buried under wreckage, "He's dead. He did it. I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."

Minerva heard the despair and guilt in his tone and moved the Doctor a bit to speak into the comms, "Hey, don't worry, we believe you," she spoke softly, "Just stay calm. Tell us your name. What's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Nice to meet you, sir. We're a bit curious to know of the state of the engines..." Minerva looked at the Doctor for confirmation, smiling with pride when he nodded.

"They're um...hold on," Midshipman Frame pushed himself forwards and groaned.

"Have you been injured?" the Doctor asked at the sound.

"I'm all right. Oh my vot. They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?"

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."

"What!?" Minerva nearly choked at the words, "But earth..."

"Oh yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work."

"Trust me, it'll keep the engines going until I can get to the bridge," the Doctor switched off the comms and turned to Minerva who seemed terrified.

"Doctor, _Martha_ is down there...my grandmother..." she looked out the window again.

"And they'll be alright," he assured, "No one is going to die."

"We're going to die!" Foon cried at the mention of the word.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr. Copper asked.

"We're just a cruise ship!" Astrid was also close to tears.

"Okay, okay. Tch, tch," the Doctor stepped beside Minerva, taking her hand in am effort to calm her in the process, "First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B...no...two: we're going to reach the bridge. Three - or C: we're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little "iv" in brackets they use in footnotes...why. Right then, follow me."

"Hang on a minute," Rickston called, stopping the pair before they turned around, "Who put you in charge and who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

"...No," Rickston blinked, stepping back.

"In that case, allons-y!" the Doctor reverted to his childhood ways and turned around, leading the others away and noticing Minerva smirking to herself, "Anything the matter?"

"Nothing, that was just really hot," she whispered, her face flushing a deep red.

The Doctor smirked and kissed her head, loving that he could have that affect on her...oh yes, he definitely liked where this relationship was going.

~0~

The group came to a metal door that led into a stairwell littered with debris and sparking cables.

"Careful. Follow me," the Doctor went ahead and cleared the way for the others.

"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas. It's a festival of violence," Mr. Copper began another of his lectures, missing the big confusion on Minerva's face, "They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

"Actually, that's not true. Christmas is a time of - of peace and thanksgiving and..." the Doctor trailed off, "...what am I on about? Christmas is always like this," he shook his head and uncovered a dormant Host.

Not for me," Minerva spoke up, "Christmas used to be nice..." the Doctor watched her as she grew quiet, "...Back with my grandmother, and the snicker doodles..."

"Hey, you'll have your snicker doodles tonight, okay?" he promised her, "We can bake those cookies again and I promise to try and not make a mess this time round."

"Snicker doodles on Christmas, with my new boyfriend?" Minerva considered it, practically bursting with joy even if she was on a dead ship that was going to crash into her planet, "Yes, please!" she pecked his lips.

He beamed and returned to the host beside them, "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics, both of us," Morvin volunteered, Foon stepping beside him.

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff."

"See if you can get it working," the Doctor nodded them to go ahead, "Now let's have a look," he took Minerva's hand and led them up the stairs with the rest of the group.

"It's blocked," Astrid remarked when they stopped in front of a big wreckage in front of them.

"So what do we do?" the Doctor asked.

"We shift it!" Minerva exclaimed.

"That's the attitude. Rickston, Mr Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta... look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

"No! Bannakaffalatta!" the red alien said firmly.

"All right then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

"Easy. Good," Bannakaffalatta squeezed through the opening, the ship lurching as he did and sent loose debris on the them.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston cried, looking up in case something else fell down.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot. Did you get our message?" the Doctor asked as he searched for a way to move the debris.

"No. What message?"

"Shut up!"

Minerva surprised the Doctor with a kiss on his cheek, "I really like you."

He smiled softly at her, her calm attitude despite the severity of their situation was quite attractive as well, "I like you too," he blushed, giving her a short kiss on the lips.

"Bannakaffalatta made it," came the little red alien's voice from across.

"I'm small enough, I can get through," Astrid volunteered and began making her way through the hole.

"Me too," Minerva looked down at herself with disappointment, "I tell you it's gonna be quite interesting trying to kiss you," she looked at the Doctor and compared their heights silently.

"I find that..." he leaned to her and whispered, "...hot," she blinked and blushed real hard, the Doctor chuckling as he gave a small kiss on her cheek.

"And I'm out," she said with a shaky voice, following into the hole where Astrid had gone.

"Careful!" he called after her.

"Thing is, how are Mr and Mrs Fatso gonna get through this gap?" Rickston demanded.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, the man's attitude was not going to ruin his mood with his girlfriend, "We make the gap bigger. So start," he handed Rickston a piece of metal.

"We can clear it from this side," Astrid Caledonia as she helped Minerva out of the hole, "Just tell me if it starts moving."

"Thanks," Minerva stood to her feet and dusted herself off. She then noticed Bannakaffalatta laying on the floor, "Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?"

"Sshhh," he put a finger on his mouth.

"What is it?" Astrid moved over, Minerva behind her.

"Can't say."

"Are you hurt?" Minerva studied him but saw no physical injuries.

"Ashamed..."

"Of what?"

"Poor Bannakaffalatta," he lifted his dress shirt to reveal cybernetic components, turning his head away from them in shame.

"You're a cyborg," Minerva remarked, a tad surprised.

"Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now," Astrid said softly, seeing the alien in full shame, "cmCyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married."

"Marry you?" he turned his head over to them.

"Well, you can buy me a drink first. Come on. Let's recharge you," Astrid pressed a button on his torso and stood up, "Just stay there for a bit."

"Tell no one."

"We promise."

"What's going on up there?!" the Doctor called, alarmed at the silence. Minerva was _never_ that quiet, or quiet at all.

Minerva glanced at Astrid with a mischievous smile, "You wanna see something funny?"

"We're on a ship that's about to crag and kill six million people including us...I'll take what you got," Astrid sighed, really in the mood for a genuine laugh.

Minerva sauntered back to the hole, seeing the Doctor on the other side, "I just got engaged to Bannakaffalatta!"

"WHAT!?" then there was a loud bang from the other side, Minerva glancing back at Astrid, her eyes eyebrows wiggling, "Excuse me!?" the Doctor rubbed his head, having hit it on a pipe above.

She was only there for two minutes, what the hell happened!? He supposed that she was just that gorgeous anyone would ask her to marry him, that's why Zian had tricked her into marrying him after all...

"I'm just kidding, Doctor!" Minerva laughed, unknowingly making him breath out in relief.

"Minerva!" he shouted, her laughter just increasing.

"Martian!" she mimicked his tone.

"That was funny," Astrid concluded, chuckling herself.

"Told yah," Minerva smirked and continued with her work.

~ 0 ~

"Almost done!" Morvin called up to the trio of men upstairs.

"Good, good, good," the Doctor moved to a comms, "Mr Frame, how's things?"

"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one."

"What is it? Are they losing air?"

"No. One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."

The Doctor immediately looked down to the Van Hoffs where they had just finished up the Host.

"It's working!" Morvin exclaimed happily.

The Doctor rushed down as the Host took Morvin by the throat,

"Kill. Kill. Kill."

"Turn it off!" the Doctor ordered as he came down.

"I can't, Doctor!" Foon cried.

"Go!" he arrived and shooed Foon away. He took out the screwdriver and used it on the Host, "Lock! Double deadlock!" exasperated, he put away the screwdriver and used his hands to help Morvin free, "Okay, go upstairs!"

"Run, darling, run!" Foon called to her husband and he ran up the stairs.

"Information: kill, kill, kill..."

"Rickston! Get them through!" the Doctor shouted.

"No chance!" the man went in himself through the hole.

"Rickston!" Mr. Copper called after him.

"I'll never get through there," Foon shook her head.

"Yes, you can. Let me go first," Mr. Copper started going through the hole.

The Doctor ran up to the comms, the Host following, "It's the Host! They've gone berserk! Are you safe up there?"

~ 0 ~

But inside the main bridge, Midshipman Frame turned to see another group of Host heading for the open door, "Kill. Kill. Kill," they chanted.

The man closed and locked the door in time, only catching the hand of one of the Host.

~0~

Minerva, Astrid, and Mr. Copper were currently trying to help Foon through the hole,

"No, I'm stuck!" she cried.

"Come on, you can do it!" Minerva urged, glancing at Rickston who stood to the side and just _watched_.

Mr. Copper was using a metal pole as a lever to widen the space, struggling actual, "It's going to collapse!" but Foon finally made it, leaving Morvin and the Doctor, "Rickston, vot damn it, help me!"

"No... way," Rickston shook his head.

"Coward and useless!" Minerva moved over and helped Mr. Copper.

"Morvin, get through!" Copper yelled.

Morvin was having a bit more of a struggle to get through the hole, the chants of Host nearing behind as the Doctor ran up to the hole.

"Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid yelled, able to see the man just slightly around Morvin.

"Mr Van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me," the Doctor placed his hands on Morvin's rear and pushed him through.

"That's it," Astrid helped Morvon, "We've got you. Doctor, come on, get through."

The Doctor however, turned to the Host which was literally right behind him, "Information override! You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!"

Minerva and Mr. Copper were straining to hold open the hole, "Doctor! We can't hold it!" came her strained voice.

"Information: Deck 31."

"Thank you," the Doctor grinned and scrambled through the hole, "Let go!"

Mr. Copper and Minerva released their grip on the pole, the beam crashing onto the Host's head.

"Oh thank God!" Minerva encased him in a big hug, her heart nearly beating out if her chest. He hugged her back, both forgetting for a moment that there were other people as the enjoyed their embrace, knowing for the moment they were both okay.

~ 0 ~

At the bridge, Midshipman Frame turned to see the hand of the Host that was locked between the door and wall _moving_. He yelped and turned a handle that shut the door completely, cutting off the hand. But he looked through the window of the door and saw a line of Host's waiting for him.

~ 0 ~

The group opened the door to find a clear room, a kitchen of some sorts. There was even a table with some food on it.

"Morvin, look, food," Foon pointed and walked towards it.

"Oh great. Someone's happy," Rickston rolled his eyes.

"Don't have any then," Morvin moved to his wife, not about to let him make her cry again.

"Ow!" Rickston flinched, "Did you just...ow!"

"Sorry," Minerva had walked past him with a smirk on her face.

She elbowed him...twice.

The Doctor headed to the comms, concerned for their friend up at the bridge, "Mr Frame, you still there?"

"Yes, sir, but I've got Host outside. I sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill. Why would anyone do that?" the Doctor asked, his mind still trying to come up with a valid list of reasons and of the culprit.

"That's not the only problem, Doctor. I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means..." Midshipman Frame sighed, guilty of yet another problem of the ship, "No one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

"Yeah, right, fine. One problem at a time," the Doctor made a face at that, he'd have to worry about it later, "What's on Deck 31?"

"Um, that's down below. It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

The Doctor looked at a scanner beside, putting on his glasses, "Well, what's that? See that panel? Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"Never seen it before."

"100% shielded. What's down there?"

"I'll try intensifying the scanner."

"Let me know if you find anything," the Doctor removed his glasses, "And keep those engines going!"

Minerva walked over, seeing the concern on his face and feeling bad she couldn't exactly help him, "Hey..." she bit her lip, feeling really stupid that was all she could say.

But he smiled, pressing a hand onto her cheek, "I'm getting you out of this, I swear," she nodded, staying still as he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Astrid felt a little embarrassed for intruding on the pair's moment but she felt like everyone needed to eat if they were to continue their trip up to the reception room, "Sorry," she smiled dimly, "Saved you some. You might be a Time King from Gaddabee but you need to eat, and I know humans also have to eat for survival."

"Yeah, thanks," the Doctor took the plate from the blonde.

He moved Minerva to a seat and together sat down, Astrid across them. He picked up a piece of food and held it to Minerva, but she shook her head, "I'm not hungry," she frowned.

"But you gotta eat," he insisted. He'd already faulted her at this date thing and he wasn't about to let her pass out on account of a nutritional issues.

"My stomach feels kinda funny," Minerva continued to refuse the food, clutching her stomach and shaking her head.

"Mm, that would be on account of not eating," Astrid pointed, in the middle of eating her own plate.

The Doctor nodded her thanks for the help as Minerva reluctantly let him feed her. Though after a couple seconds she started smiling, "You're looking at me like that again."

"Looking how?" the Martian frowned.

"Like the time when we visited my grandmother and ended up in 1969."

"You just reminded me of 1913, that's all. The things you said...the way you moved...everything," he whispered, rubbing a thumb over her cheek.

His hearts fluttered at all the kisses he had given her, the moment he had fallen in love with her as John Smith...

How long would it be until _he_ , the Doctor, fell in love with her?

"So..." Astrid smiled at their silence, the two were currently staring at each other with those smiles the couples of earliest stages wore, "...how old are you, Minerva? I'm a bit clueless on human education."

"Recently eighteen," Minerva took a bit of more food.

"Hm," she glanced between Minerva and the Doctor, finding the two to look not so different based on ages, "Doctor, you look good for 903."

"You should see me in the mornings," the man had a mouthful of food in his mouth.

"It's not pretty," Minerva declared, the pout on his face making her giggle, "But now that we're together, perhaps I could think you looked very cute...handsome..." her hand trailed down his face, "...hot..."

Astrid shook her head at the pair, knowing it was better to leave them as they got deeper into their moments. She stood up and walked to the others, the pair not even noticing her departure.

"I think you look cute all the time of day," the Doctor remarked, watching her blush rapidly.

"That's because by the time you see me I'm usually always dressed and stuff..."

"May I remind you that I have seen you in your nighties several times now, your hair all messy..."

Minerva considered his words and realized he was right. Without realizing it, the Doctor had been allowed in her room early in the mornings and late in the nights, or whatever it was called in the TARDIS. Though everything was kept to friendship, Minerva knew it wasn't something common for her to let a man into her room like she did with the Doctor. It actually made her blush because they'd been on the same bed, sometimes her in her pajamas, nighties, and also pretty close...

"Hm...well," she considered the right words as her tongue seemed a bit slurred from her thoughts, "All that is gonna be changing. Just because we're together now...it...it doesn't mean we're...we're gonna, um..." her cheeks flushed red at where her thoughts had drifted to.

She might have joked about it earlier but it didn't mean she was ready to take that large step in her relationship, in her _life_...

The Doctor chuckled, knowing exactly what she had meant, "Minerva, nothing that you don't want, or not ready for, is going to happen."

Minerva had to smile in relief, "I'm sorry. It's just...I know this is ridiculous and stuff, but I'm young...I don't, I've never actually..."

"It's alright. There's nothing wrong with that. Let's just focus on our relationship, yeah? We can finish getting to know each other, give each other a few kisses here and there..."

She chuckled, "Just a few?"

"Just a few," he assured, no where near meaning those words.

"Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day," Mr. Copper called from the other end of the room, making the pair glance back.

"So it is. Merry Christmas," the Doctor said to them and returned his gaze to Minerva, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she whispered, watching him lower his head to press his lips on her for a Christmas kiss.

"Mm, Christmas kiss," the Doctor pulled back, mere inches from her lips so he could steal another one from her, "I like."

"How things have changed from last year," she reminded, their last Christmas just after losing the Tyler's plus saving Donna.

"I gotta find a mistletoe..." he murmured, not even caring about their last Christmas.

Minerva laughed, pushing him slightly back, "Doctor!"

"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" Astrid asked, sensing the holiday had to do with a lot of kissing since that's what they seemed to be doing a lot.

"Long story. I should know, I was there. I got the last room," the Doctor shrugged, remembering that event.

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them? They can send up a rocket or something," Mr. Copper suggested.

"We don't have spaceships," Minerva frowned, slightly irritated with the man's lack of knowledge of her home.

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles, space shuffles."

"Mr. Copper, _I'm_ human...we don't have that."

"Mr Copper, this degree in Earthonomics,... where's it from?" the Doctor asked, amused by Minerva's irritation.

"Honestly?"

"Just between us."

"Mrs. Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners."

"That makes sense..." Minerva mumbled, taking more food into her mouth.

"You - you lied to the company... to get the job?" Astrid blinked.

"I- I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"Hm, I suppose it is, yeah..." the Doctor smiled in thought of the planet, glancing at the one person that stood out from the whole race.

Minerva caught his look and turned to look at him as well, slightly perplexed, "You think _I'm_ exotic?" he nodded, his smile softening, "I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or not..."

"So she's human," Astrid pointed at Minerva, "And I understand why she would know so much about it, but _you_..." her finger drifted to the Doctor, "How come you know it so well?"

"I was sort of...a few years ago, was sorta made... well, sort of homeless, and, um there was the Earth..." the Doctor looked down for a moment, his actual home was gone and Earth seemed like it was _always_ calling him there...like a second home...cause there was someone else he could be with now...

Minerva rested her head on his arm and reached for his hand, "You're not homeless anymore. You got a family in me, Martha, and hey, even my grandmother when she finds out."

He faintly smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "Thank you."

"The thing is, though," Mr. Copper sighed, too in depth with his big problem to focus on the pair, "If we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations. Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years."

"I won't let that happen," Minerva immediately said, looking up to see the man. He was surprised she would say something like that considering they didn't even know each other. But Minerva saw in him her grandfather, and how could she allow someone like her grandfather to be imprisoned?

There was a banging on the door, the Doctor jumping from his seat and rushing to a door at the other end, across from the one being banged on, "A Host! Move! Come on!"

The pounding increased, even a dent forming from the force that made Astrid scream. The Doctor used the sonic on the other door and opened it, revealing another room that happened to be the engine room. There was a makeshift bridge that was created by a fallen strut...above the _engines_.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston frowned at it.

"On the other hand, it _is_ a way across," Minerva sighed, this time agreeing with the man of the way to get across.

"The engines are open," remarked Astrid, also not happy.

"Nuclear storm drive. Soon as it stops, the Titanic falls," the Doctor explained.

"But that thing, it'll never take our weight," Morvin stepped towards the edge.

"You're going last, mate," Rickston gave him a quick look.

"It's nitrofine metal. It's stronger than it looks," the Doctor tried to explain as he worked on the door, getting it shut.

"All the same, Rickston's right. Me and Foon should -" Morvin's foot stepped on a weak piece of metal where the railing gave way...and he _fell_ down towards the engine.

"Morvin!" Foon cried, running up to where her husband had just been.

The others watched in horror, as if that didn't just happen...

 **"** I told you! I told you!" Rickston exclaimed.

Minerva turned to him, outraged he was _so_ snooty and selfish he wasn't even remotely perturbed a man had just _died_ , "SHUT UP!" she screamed, actually making him flinch at the volume of her tone.

Foon turned to the Doctor, hysterically crying, "Bring him back! Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry, I can't..." the Doctor looked at the opening, still shocked himself.

"You promised me!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

"Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent," Mr. Copper had turned to the door as stomping of the Host's were nearing the group.

"I'm not waiting," Rickston shook his head and started crossing the bridge.

"Careful! Take it slowly!" the Doctor called, disliking the man for his attitude as well but his death was not something he would ever wish...

There was a tumbling as the ship rocked, making Rickston nearly fall, "Vot help me," he mumbled to himself as he continued.

"You're okay. One step at a time. Come on, you can do it," the Doctor urged.

 **"** They're getting nearer!" Mr. Copper exclaimed.

"Seal us in," the Doctor muttered to himself, using the sonic to shut the door on them.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced," the Doctor turned around, moving for Minerva, he didn't feel right leaving her alone in this room...or anywhere, now that he thought about it. After the Master, he'd be damned if anyone could separate them.

"Maybe he's all right. Maybe - Maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's unconscious," Foon was saying in hopes, unable to grasp the idea that her husband was actually dead.

Astrid was beside her, trying to calm the woman, still solemn herself of the event, "I'm sorry Foon. He's gone," she hugged the widower.

"What am I going to do without him?" Foon sniffled.

"Yes! Oh yes! Who's good?!" Rickston had hopped off the bridge on the other side, completely unharmed.

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor instructed.

"Bannakaffalatta, small," he nodded, stepping onto the bridge.

"Slowly!" the Doctor called, glancing between the door and the bridge, the Host continuing with their pounds behind the door.

"They've found us!" Mr. Copper gasped.

"Minerva, Astrid, get across right now," the Doctor started pushing Minerva towards the bridge, motioning Astrid to follow.

"No, what about you?" Minerva managed to turn and stop the Martian.

"I need you to go first," he tried to push again but she wouldn't budge, making her sigh, "Minerva, _please_."

"Not without you," she said quietly, dead serious.

She didn't wait a year to finally be with him to be separated on their first date. Beyond that, she just wouldn't leave him, friend or girlfriend, she just wouldn't.

He took a heavy sigh and resigned to get everyone else started across the bridge, "Astrid, Mr. Copper, please don't argue and just go," the pair glanced at each other and nodded, "Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for? What am I gonna do without him?" Foon sniffled, still gazing down to where her husband had fallen through.

"Doctor! The door's locked!" Rickston called from the other side, gesturing to the locked door.

"Just think... what would he want, eh?" Minerva moved over to Foon.

"He don't want nothing, he's dead!"

"No, when my grandfather died, he made sure to tell us he wanted us to live our lives and not to cry over him. He wanted us to be happy," Minerva insisted, trying to move Foon but the woman was sobbing.

"Doctor, I can't open the door. We need the whirring key thing of yours!" Rickston called again.

"We can't leave her!" the Doctor shouted.

"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!"

The Doctor looked at the group and Minerva, knowing very well that he couldn't risk her safety, not now, not when he had just gotten her. He rushed to Minerva and Foon, "Mrs. Van Hoff, I am coming back for you, all right?" he tugged on Minerva's arm and brought themselves to the bridge, moving Minerva first.

But as the two stepped on, the metal of the bridge creaked at the additional weight it had to sustain.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta glanced back at the pair.

"Oi! Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!" the Doctor shooed him off.

"It's gonna fall!" Astrid continuously looked down at the engines, afraid she'd slip and fall...and die.

"It's just settling! Keep going!"

But the Host stopped pounding...

"They've stopped," Astrid frowned, glancing back at the door that was silent now.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta suggested.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor mumbled to himself, no one chasing after him _ever_ gave up...

"Never mind that. Keep coming!" Rickston motioned them to get to him. Why would they waste time like this? If an enemy was chasing them, and suddenly _left_ they should _run_.

"Where have they gone? Where are the Host?" the Doctor ignored the man, focused more on the danger of _missing_ Hosts...and then Minerva tugged on his arm, she looking up with wide eyes.

"Doctor...angels can _fly_ ," her mouth fell open at the Host's above flying down towards them.

"I usually love it when you're clever, but on this occasion, I'm gonna have to say I don't like it."

The same group of Host were gliding down from above, encircling the group, "Information: kill," they reached for their halos.

"Arm yourselves! All of you!" the Doctor ordered, all of them reaching for pipes or bits of metals to defend themselves.

The Host threw their halos at them, each of them swatting it away for the first couple of times. However, one halo managed to graze the Doctor's arm and another Mr. Copper'Copper's leg. Minerva's pipe was flung down by a halo, nearly knocking her down as well.

Astrid dropped to her knees, "I can't," she looked up at the endless halos coming their way.

"Bannakaffalatta stop! Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta, cyborg!" Bannakaffalatta lifted his shirt and discharged energy towards the Host, knocking them all out except for one that fell on the bridge behind the Doctor.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" the Doctor turned to the little alien, Bannakaffalatta falling to the ground almost immediately.

Astrid went to his side, "He's used all his power!"

"Did good?" he asked her.

"You saved our lives" she smiled at him.

"Bannakaffalatta happy."

"We can recharge you, get you to a power point and just plug you in!" her smile started fading as Bannakaffalatta eyes threatened to close.

"Too late."

"No, but...you gotta get me that drink, remember?"

"Pretty girl," Bannakaffalatta closed his eyes and died.

Muffling her tears, Astrid went to button Bannakaffalatta's shirt but Mr. Copper reached for his power source.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me," he apologized sincerely.

"It's the EMP transmitter. He - he'd want us to use it," Mr. Copper removed the transmitter, "I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

"Do you think? Try telling him that," Rickston pointed behind the group, turning to see the Host that had landed behind begin to move.

"Information: reboot."

"Use the EMP!" Rickston shouted.

"It's dead!" Mr. Copper shook his head, lowering the EMP.

"It's gotta have emergency..." Astrid took the EMP to take a look at it.

"Doctor," Minerva reached out for him, the Martian moving up to confront the Host. He lived to give her heart attacks.

"I gotta try something," he mumbled, before directing to the Host, "No, no, no. Hold on. Override loophole security protocol... Ten! 666! Oh. 21, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Um, I dunno, 42! Uh, one!"

The Host actually stopped midway and stood passively, "Information: state request."

"Good...right," the Doctor, internally sighing of relief that for the moment they weren't going to be killed, "You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the Titanic so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?"

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me."

"Let me try," Minerva whispered to him, preferring him to back away.

"Sh," he blocked her way of walk with an arm.

"Information: now you will die."

It prepared to strike, the Doctor completely moving in front of Minerva, but a lasso was thrown over the Host's head and tightened around its body by Foon.

"You're coming with me," Foon closed her eyes and jumped over the side, pulling the Host with her down to the engines.

"Nooooo!" the Doctor shouted, looking down as Foon fell to her death.

"Poor Foon," Minerva sighed.

"No more," the Doctor muttered, so _done_ with the deaths. Next thing he knew it could be Astrid or Mr. Copper, or even worse, _Minerva_.

~ 0 ~

The group made it into another set of maintenance halls, the Doctor giving orders as soon as they entered, "Right. Get up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr Copper. You've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of this," he held the EMP to hers, "Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Minerva, take this  
I've preset it. Just hold down that button. It'll open doors," she gave her a kiss on the forehead and moved on to Mr. Copper.

Minerva stood there, dumbfounded for a couple minutes till she realized he was practically saying goodbye, "Hold on..." she grabbed Rickston's arm and handed him the screwdriver, "Open the doors, _don't_ lose it."

"All right!" he nodded, not caring who ordered now as long a it got him out of this ship.

"Doctor!" Minerva trailed after the Martian as he handed Mr. Copper a first aid kit.

"Mr Copper, I need you fighting fit. Astrid, where's the power point?" he blatantly ignored Minerva for a second.

"Under the comms," she nodded to the power point, following him to learn how to re-charge the EMP.

"When it's ready, that blue light comes on there," he explained.

"Martian!" Minerva stomped her foot, knowing she sounded like a child but it was the only way to grab his attention, "Astrid, can we have a moment?" she asked softly, "Please?" Astrid nodded and walked away, sensing the oncoming disagreement between the pair.

"Minerva," the Doctor sighed, acting as if he was currently working on something mega important.

"You're talking as if you're not coming with us," she informed, however she doubted he hadn't realized yet.

"There's something down on Deck 31. I'm gonna find out what it is."

"And what about me, huh? You expect me to keep going with everyone else and leave you?"

"Frankly, yes, I do," he nodded, locking his gaze on the machine.

He didn't want to face her and her big, shiny jade-green eyes that would get him to do anything she wanted. And not this time, he could not do what she wanted this time, it was far too dangerous.

"Doctor, I'm not going to leave you."

"And I'm not taking you," he said, purposely cold.

Hopefully, she'd get irritated and leave on her own. Later on, he'd apologize to no means end until she forgave him. But for now, she _needed_ to go away.

"I'm coming with you!" Minerva raised her voice, she was so _not_ letting it go.

"No, you're not!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Minerva paused, suppressing her anger as best she could, yet her voice was still raised when she spoke again, "And why not?"

"Because I won't lose you!" the Doctor finally looked up, that last part coming out in a shot that shut her up and had the group silenced. Minerva blinked, processing his words again and again in her mind. He sighed, regretting his shout upon seeing her startled face, "Minerva, I _just_ got you. I _won't_ risk your life for anything. I don't know what's down there but it's gotta be pretty bad if it doesn't care that a whole planet is gonna be wiped out. So you see, I need you to stay with the group, in the Reception, away from Deck 31."

Minerva's heart fluttered at his immense care for her. But even through all that, she just couldn't grasp the idea of leaving him alone to face the big ole enemy. It was _wrong_.

"Minerva, please, _please_ , stay with the others," the Doctor pleaded, moving around for her, "I'll come back, we'll bake those cookies and then I'll find us a mistletoe and I'll kiss and kiss and kiss you till you forgive me, okay?" he placed his hand over her cheek, "I promise I'll come back."

She opened her mouth to retaliate when he interrupted her with a kissed. She loved the way she felt about him, but she knew that would lead to him getting what he wanted through a kiss.

"Okay," she whispered as he parted from her.

Her agreement made him breathe a little easier, knowing she would be far away from the biggest threat on the ship besides the actual ship crashing, "Thank you," he breathed.

"But I'm not happy about it," she informed as he took her hand and moved her beside the charger.

"I know, and I'll do my best to make it up to you afterwards," he assured, because they _would_ survive this.

"I expect a very good kiss," she said, watching him blush.

"Um, I think it's done charging," Astrid slowly approached them, wanting to make sure they were really past their disagreement before joining. The EMP was past charge but the pair had been so caught up with each other to notice, "It's alright," she plucked it off and turned to them, "So, you two okay now?"

"Yeah, he's just got one heck of an apology to make after we get the TARDIS," Minerva smirked at him.

"I'll take you to those ice mineral lakes, we can go to Manet, and even Marie Antoinette?" he tried to see if that was making her smile, and one she did, he continued, promising himself he would take her to see all those things, "Agatha Christie? Um, Ooh, how about Rio?"

"Wow," Astrid blinked, all those places and people sounding _so_ amazing, "Wow, um, all that sounds terrific. I take it you guys travel a lot?"

Minerva scoffed, "That's what he does for a _living_. I just kinda tag along."

The Doctor wound his arm around Minerva's waist, "She's not a tag along, she's my girlfriend and a rightful traveler in the TARDIS. That's what _we_ are, just travelers. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss, just the open sky."

Astrid could imagine it, after all that was _all_ she wanted to do in life, travel and see the world, "Listen, uh...I'm sort of...unemployed now and I was thinking the blue box is kinda small, but I could kinda squeeze in. Like a stowaway."

Minerva and the Doctor shared a glance, meanwhile Astrid stared at them with such hope.

"It's not always safe," the Doctor informed, still gazing at Minerva for help.

He didn't know what to think about Astrid's request. It had been mere _hours_ since Martha had left the TARDIS. Minerva was also puzzled on what to say, but something deep inside told her Astrid was _her_ a year ago. All her life, Minerva wanted to go see the world, be productive and do something. She could see the same gleam in Astrid's eyes and she felt like she couldn't turn the blonde away...but ultimately, it was the Doctor's decision that would make it or break it. The box of wonders was _his_ and only he could decide who to bring on board.

"I wouldn't cause any problems," Astrid added, nervously seeing the pair thinking of it for _too_ long, "I've got no one back on Sto, no family, just me. So what do you think? Can I come with you? Please?"

The Doctor glanced at Minerva, wanting _her_ to be okay with a new passenger, a female besides Martha, to come along. He didn't know just yet if Minerva was the jealous type, he knew for a fact _he_ was, but she hadn't shown any jealousy traits so far. Granted, Martha had never shown the least bit interest in him so perhaps Minerva just hadn't been exposed to any jealous causing situations. But he had hurt her, with Rose for ignoring her, and then with Kaeya and his confusion, he wouldn't hurt her anymore. No more. He would always take her and her voice into consideration and he would start now.

Minerva gave him a small nod, truly wanting Astrid to accompany them, "I think she would make a fine companion."

Astrid beamed at her response, that was one down, and now for the other...

"Yeah, I'd like that, too," the Doctor agreed, also seeing in Astrid that little spark of curiosity that all his companions had.

Astrid squealed, jumping and hugging the pair, "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Alright, alright, m now let us go so we can get you out of here," the Doctor struggled to free himself from Astrid's grip.

"Right, sorry," she stepped back, sheepishly fixing her uniform, "Just excited."

The Doctor nodded and walked towards a comms nearby, the ship lurching and rocking them as he reached, "Mr Frame, you still with us?"

~ 0 ~

Midshipman Frame was at the wheel, nearly having fallen from the lurch as well, "There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left!"

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

"The bridge is sealed off!"

~ 0 ~

"Yeah, yeah, working on it. I'll get there, Mr Frame, somehow," the Doctor left the comms and turned for the group, "Mr Copper, look after these two please," he set a hand on Minerva's shoulder, "Astrid, look after him. Rickston, um...look after yourself. And I'll see you again, promise," he pecked Minerva on the lips, moving to leave when she yanked him by his arm back to her, "Minerva, I thought we discussed-"

But she had grabbed him by his lapels and pulled him down to her level for a very large, deep kiss that left them both panting for air when they had _finally_ pulled away from each other.

" _That_ is what I expect as the _beginning_ of your apology when you get back, got it Martian?" Minerva kept her arm wound his neck, refusing to let go until it was very clear.

The Doctor could only nod, for a woman who never kissed anyone she _sure_ had some moves that left him like putty in her arms.

She smiled with satisfaction, unwinding her arm and stepping back, "You take care, okay?"

"Y-yes, I'll see you later!" he winked and ran off.

"Well, c'mon then newest box of wonders companion," Minerva swung her arm around Astrid's shoulders as they headed for the reception room.

"Box of wonders?"

"Yeah, it's my nickname for the TARDIS. It's brought me so many wonders," she sighed in content, "I'm sure it'll bring you many too."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor ran into a small kitchen where in less than two seconds he was surrounded by four Host. He grabbed a pot by the handle and was fully prepared to use it as a weapon, "Wait, wait, wait, wait! Security protocol one! Do you hear me? One! One!" he shouted and they all stopped, "Okay, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?"

"Information: correct."

He frowned, "No, that wasn't one of them. I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?"

"Information: no."

His frown turned into a pout, "No, no! No, no, no. That wasn't one either. Blimey. One question left. One question. So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not me. I'm not a passenger. I'm not staff. Go on, scan me. You must have bio records. No such person on board. I don't exist therefore...you can't kill me. Therefore, I'm a stowaway and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on Deck 31. Final question: am I right?"

"Information: correct."

"Brilliant. Take me to your leader," he dropped the pan, smiling with content, "I've always wanted to say that."

~ 0 ~

The group arrived into the reception room, Astrid using the EMP to bring down the awaiting Host.

"Rickston, seal the doors, make the room secure. Mr Copper, keep an eye on the Host," Minerva instructed, Astrid give him the EMP, "Astrid, do you think you could check the computer for the SOS?"

"Who put you in charge?" Rickston frowned at the girl's authorative tone she had taken.

"When the Doctor isn't here, I''m second in command," Minerva walked over to Astrid who had slammed her fists on the computer, "What is it?"

"It's down," Astrid turned to the teleport bracelets, an idea popping into her head, "Oh..."

"Yeah, I remembered they were still up here," Minerva moved beside her.

"Should we?" Astrid asked her, unsure how she should manage this new "companionship" in the best way, "Or do we listen?"

"Astrid Peth, if there's one thing you should know about traveling with the Doctor is..." Minerva strapped on the teleport bracelet, "...never listen to what the Martian orders you to do, _especially_ when he's your boyfriend."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was being willingly escorted down to Deck 31, the Host storage facility. There were small structural damages and small fires, but that wasn't of concern for the Doctor yet.

"Now that is what you call a fixer-upper. Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours, who is it?" he asked, two doors sliding open behind him, making him turn around, "Ooh, that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh?" a small vehicle started wheeling out, "Sit through a supernova or a shipwreck. Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves onboard like this and I should know, 'cause..."

The vehicle was actually a giant life support system for Max Capricorn, the head of the ship and company...only he was just a head now, "My name is Max," his gold tooth glinted.

"It really does that," the Doctor paused in surprise. But he had to snap out of it fast, he had to hurry and deal with this guy so he could get back to Minerva and begin that apology...

"Who the hell is this?" Max asked.

"I'm the Doctor. Hello."

"Information: stowaway," the Host responded.

"Well..."

"Kill him," Max ordered.

"Oh, no, no! Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max...You've given me so much good material like...How to get ahead in business. See "head"? "Head in business"? No?" the Doctor was really losing it there.

"Oh, ho ho, the office joker. I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"I can't think why..."

"176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but...nice wheels," the Doctor gestured to the car, all in all it was a pretty nice thing.

"No, a life-support system in a society that despises cyborgs. I've had to hide away for years. Running the company by hologram. Host, situation report."

"Information: Titanic is still in orbit."

"Let me see," Max moved forwards and the Doctor stepped out of his way, "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?" he frowned as he stared down at the _running_ engines, "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do, the Earth gets roasted. I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it? It's got really lovely people..." the Doctor nearly pouted, how could anyone want to destroy Minerva?

"This interview is terminated."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!"

Neither of them noticed _Astrid_ peeking around a corner. She was actually pretty nervous of what she could do down there on her own. After insisting with Midshipman Frame to get her and Minerva teleportation power to come down here, they'd only managed to get him to agree sending _one_ of them. Minerva stated that _she_ would come and so Astrid agreed, understanding that the brunette had someone she deeply cared for down here while Astrid really only wanted to just help. The best way to help was letting Minerva do what she wanted. Unfortunately for them both, the power had gone wrong and _Astrid_ was sent instead, leaving a pretty peeved Minerva behind.

"Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me," the Doctor frantically asked, the sudden death of his not a play thing anymore. He had a _girlfriend_ to get back to, he could not just die anymore, "...Business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh yes! No. Yes. The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back."

"If you had a back. So..."

Astrid moved forwards...

"You scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No, 'cause if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And... the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder," Max smirked, it truly was the perfect plan.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of...metal."

"So that's the plan. A retirement plan. 2000 on this ship, 6 billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered. And why? Because Max Capricorn is a _loser_ ," the Doctor spat, angry this man was responsible for the Van Hoffs death, Bannakaffalatta's, Minerva's safety...for _revenge_.

"I never lose..." Max declared.

"You can't even sink the Titanic."

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here."

An alarm started to sound...

 _Engines closing_.

"You can't do this!" the Doctor cried, two Host holding the Doctor by the arms and pulled him away from Max.

"Not so clever now, Doctor. A shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good. All that banter yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The Titanic is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh! Oh, Host! Kill him," Max ordered, the Host not holding the Doctor removed it's halo to strike the him.

"Mr, Capricorn!" Astrid shouted, freezing everyone in their places, even the Host. She was currently in a forklift, "I resign," she started the forklift and went towards Max.

"Astrid, don't!" the Doctor struggled to stop her, the Host still holding him back

Astrid lifted the front of Capricorn"Capricorn"s life support vehicle, managing to bring up its tires. However, his rear tires still had enough traction to cause a standoff. The Host that was about to strike the Doctor threw it's halo at Astrid, missing her for a part of the forklift instead.

"He's cut the break line!" the Doctor exclaimed, but the blonde didn't listen.

She lifted the fork higher, completely lifting Capricorn off the ground, and stepped on the gas. But just as she was about to fall forwards along with the forklift and Capricorn, there was a blue light and Minerva flashed on the step of the forklift.

"What are you-" Astrid blinked, seeing Minerva's eyes completely blue for a brief second and her arms covered in bits of ice before she was yanked off the forklift, landing on the edge of the cliff.

"Minerva!" the Doctor called, completely terrified.

It all happened too fast.

Minerva looked at the Doctor, her eyes reverting to jade-green, before he could notice, her eyes watery as she knew what would happen. She tried to jump off the forklift before it fell down.

Her hands managed to grab onto the edge, "I can't...I'm slipping," she started to sniffle as she looked down to the running engines.

"No!" the Doctor tried breaking free from the Host, their leader still wasn't completely 'dead' and so his orders were still intact.

"Come up, Minerva," Astrid grunted as she tried pulling the woman up, "Come...up!"

The Doctor finally broke free from the Hosts and started running for the women.

"See the world, Astrid," Minerva offered a smile.

...and then her hands slipped from Astrid's.

"NOOOOO!" the Doctor fell to his knees right beside Astrid, looking down in horror as his Minerva, his clever girl, his _girlfriend_ plummeted down to her _death_. He had to look away, a coward he was that he couldn't dare look at his failure.

He had failed Minerva, completely failed her.

 _Titanic falling. Voyage terminated._

"Doctor!" Astrid shook his arm, understanding he was shocked of the death, but there was still a whole planet to save, "Please! Help us!"

No one saw a blue light rush down before Minerva actually hit the fire underneath. The clever girl faded, only the tips of her hair faintly touching the fire.

The Doctor was struggling to force himself, to remember the other 6 million people on the planet. That included Martha Jones and Minerva's grandmother...

...but _Minerva_...she...she was...no...NO.

" _Please_ ," Astrid begged, in tears for the loss they just witnessed, "Save us."

But the Doctor looked down the engines...there was no one anymore. Minerva had probably submerged down the raging fires...

He winced terribly at the thought...had she died before reaching the fires? Or was she being burned alive? He looked away, unable to see the place of his fail...of her death.

"Doctor!" Astrid suddenly gasped, "The bracelets! The teleportation bracelets! She had one on, and..."

He blinked...seeing where her thoughts had gone to.

"If the ship is saved then maybe a fraction of power could be left and..."

The Doctor had already bolted to his feet and ran off.

Astrid quickly jumped to her feet and ran after him.

~ 0 ~

Midshipman Frame screamed as the Doctor and Astrid literally broke through the floor of the bridge.

"Deadlock broken."

The Doctor climbed through tandem stood, Astrid struggling but eventually doing it as well.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame at last!" the Doctor greeted, for politeness reasons, but the face he wore was not the kind to greet...

"Uh, the Host!" Midshipman Frame reminded.

"Controller dead they divert to the next highest authority and that's _me_ ," the Doctor headed for the wheel.

"There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's gonna fall."

"Titanic falling."

"Yeah, yeah, what's your first name?"

"Alonzo."

That actually managed to surprise him, "You're kidding me..."

Both Frame and Astrid glanced at each other, "What?" Frame asked, confused.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say...Allons-y Alonzo," the Doctor mumbled to himself, recalling Minerva's giggles at his "stupid made up word".

He had to hurry. He had to...his mind was all jumbled up and the only thing he could think of was her, the clever girl, the one who just _needed_ to come back. And he was gonna make it so.

The ship lurching reminded him of the problem. He tried to steer as they fell straight towards the Earth's atmosphere, Frame and Astrid screaming for their lives. The ship burned as the speed ignited.

And alarm sounded and the Doctor used his foot to check, his eyes widening at the impact zone.

"Oh great..." the Doctor muttered, using his foot to dial, "Hello, yes, um...could you get me Buckingham Palace?" he paused for alarm moment until they answered, "Listen to me! Security Code 771! Now get out of there!"

~ 0 ~

The Queen of London rushed down a hallway of the Buckingham Palace, still in a dressing gown and curlers.

A footman ran beside her, carrying a corgi, "Open the door!"

~ 0 ~

The newsstand man stepped out of his Kiosk and looked up at the sky, seeing the big ship, "Don't you dare, you aliens! Don't you dare!"

~0~

 _Engine active. Engine active._

The Doctor pulled back on the wheel, sending Frame and Astrid back against the wall. With great strain, the Doctor regained control of the wheel, managing just by a hair you moss the Buckingham Palace. He gasped deeply, unable to believe he had actually managed to save the whole bloody planet...and fail _one_ person, the most important person.

~ 0 ~

Outside the Buckingham Palace, the Queen was waving at the passing ship, "Thank you, Doctor! Thank you. Happy Christmas!"

~ 0 ~

Sensing they were out of trouble, Astrid and Frame let out a big relief, even managing a laugh. The Doctor, on the other hand, remained somber, steering in silence. He had to place the stupid ship on idle so he could rush back to the reception room...

~ 0 ~

"Doctor," Astrid called in a feeble voice, the man still standing at the wheel, "We did it..."

"Not the person I strive to saved," he muttered then ran like the wind to the reception room, "Rickston, sonic, NOW!" he yelled, Rickston and Mr. Copper flinching. Rickston threw the sonic over, "Mr. Copper, the teleports, have they got emergency settings?"

"I don't know. They should have," Mr. Copper looked around, seeing Astrid and Frame walk in, "Where's, um..uh..." Astrid shook her head.

"Minerva fell, Mr. Copper. She fell. What's the emergency code?"

"Uh, let me see..."

"What the hell are you doing?" Midshipman Frame asked, the Doctor working on the teleport machine like mad.

"I can bring her back."

"If a passenger has an accident on shore leave and they're still wearing their teleport, their molecules are automatically suspended and held in stasis so that we can just trigger the shift," Mr. Copper explained.

"There!" the Doctor stood and turned around, a faint glowing beginning to appear, "C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!" the glow turned blue, but nothing happened, "Only halfway there. Come on," he adjusted the inner workings of the teleport, "Feed back the molecule grid, boost it with the restoration matrix," but the teleport sparked, "No, no, no, no! Need more phase containment."

"Doctor," Astrid called, already knowing it just wouldn't work.

"No! If I can just link up the surface suspension..."

"Doctor, she's gone," Mr. Copper said, sorrow for him already bursting within.

"I just need to override the safety. I can do it!"

"Doctor, let her go."

"NO!" he yelled, making everyone jump. He kicked the teleport in frustration and turned around, showing them all he was close to tears, "I _just_ got her and I _lost_ her! I can't just _let it go_!" that was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard of, how could he let the most amazing woman go?

"But there's nothing to do," Astrid softly said, the guilt stirring inside her. Minerva was dead because of _her_.

"I can't do anything!" the Doctor shook his head, dropping to his knees as he stared at the blue glow across, simply light was what it was. He couldn't even bring Minerva's ghost back... "I failed her, I lost her..."

He had done everything to keep her safe, everything in his power. He sent her back to the reception room to keep her alive while _he_ would deal with Capricorn. He promised her snicker doodles for Christmas, a big grand apology after he returned. He promised her he would be back...and she died.

She was gone.

How could he possibly move on from this? How would he explain to Martha that he had let her best friend _die_ just hours after they had left her. How would he explain that to _Isadora_? He promised her he'd take care of Minerva with his life...how could he explain her death?

Astrid looked at the blue light suddenly speed out the window. She slowly approached the Doctor, cautiously placing her hand on his shoulder, making sure he wouldn't lash at her or anything. When she heard him begin to quietly weep, she dropped to his side, giving him a side hug, both mourning a good woman.

~ 0 ~

Somewhere in an open space in London, the TARDIS awaited...a faint blue glow at its top, just fading as the Doctor, Astrd, and Mr. Copper approached.

The Doctor remembered Minerva's promise to Mr. Copper to save him from jail. He couldn't let Copper go, that would be against Minerva's wishes. If he could please her in the slightest, even in her death, than he would. Astrid, having no where else to go, was brought along, but he would have to talk about their offer to bring her along the TARDIS...

Without Minerva, he just couldn't.

"So, Great Britain is part of, uh, "Europee" just across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany..." Mr. Copper was explaining, really doing it to try and distract the Doctor, the man solemnly walking ahead of he and Astrid.

"No, no, it's just - it's just France and Germany. Only Britain is great..." the Doctor mumbled, barely heard by the pair.

"Oh, and they're all at war with the continent of Ham-erica?"

"No, well...not yet, uh...could argue that one," he sighed, arriving at the TARDIS, "There she is. Survive anything."

"The box of wonders," Astrid smiled at the blue box, the Doctor wincing and glancing back at her.

Those were _Minerva's_ words...

Astrid smiled sheepishly, seeing the Doctor's remembrance, "She told me about it...the box of wonders," she walked towards the box, placing a palm on it, "She said it brought a lot of wonders to her..."

The Doctor stepped towards her, gathering the courage to let her down easily, "Astrid-"

"I don't want to come along anymore," she said quietly, seeing him blink in surprise, even Copper was a bit shocked and he didn't even understand what was fully going on, "I can't. Not, not after what happened," Astrid sighed, "She died because of me. I can't travel in this box, being happy...when this happened. I can't. I won't."

The Doctor nodded, respecting her wishes. He was secretly thankful he had declined all on her own. That was one less problem he had to deal with.

"I'll stay here, on Earth, if that's possible," she continued, walking backing to Copper.

"Just lead a quiet life, please," the Doctor said, she nodding.

"And, uh, what about me?" Mr. Copper looked between them. Astrid was young she could easily find a job, even marry a nice human man...but he, am old man, what could _he_ do to survive?

"Give me that credit card," the Doctor held his hand out, "Take care of each other, this will be for you and her."

"But that's just petty cash, spending money. It's all done by computer. I - I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

"A million? Pounds?" the Doctor gaped.

"That enough for trinkets?"

"Mr Copper, a million pounds is worth 50 million credits."

"How much?" Copper and Astrid blinked, glancing at Rachel other.

"50 million and 56."

"I - We've got money!"

"Yes, you have," the Doctor handed them back the card.

"Oh my word. Oh my vot! Oh my goodness me! I – Ya-ha!"

"It's all yours - Planet Earth. Now that's a retirement plan. But just you be careful, though."

"We'll take good care of each other," Astrid assured, "He'll be like my grandfather, I'll be good to him."

"But I can have a house, a proper house, with a garden, and - and a door, and..." Copper was just too excited about all this, "Oh, Doctor, I will made you proud," he hugged the Doctor, "And - and I can have a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and lace..."

Astrid chuckled, but stopped as the Doctor turned around, unlocking the TARDIS, "Doctor..." she called, making him freeze but not turning back, "...I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I won't ever forget Minerva, _ever_. She was the first, kind passenger I met...and I've worked for a very long time. She saved my life, and I couldn't save hers. That's something I can't and won't ever forgive myself for."

The Doctor nodded, glancing back to see her give him one last look before turning to Mr. Copper, both walking away.

He unlocked the door, moving to step inside...but he couldn't. He couldn't face the console, a lonely, lonely box...with Minerva's rooms, her things still there. He left the doors and walked to the lake. He stared out, the city lighted up for Christmas night. Everyone was out there, celebrating Christmas with their family, their friends, their loved ones...

He would've been celebrating as well, a new type of Christmas. One where he would kiss his girlfriend under a mistletoe, until she couldn't breathe cause of her lack of a respiratory bypass system. She would then teach him, yet again, how to bake snicker doodles, and he would make a mess again. She would kiss him, tell him it's alright then salvage a batch of cookies for them. They would eat their cookies, make some brownies and get hot chocolate...

It would've been perfect.

But he failed her.

And for some reason, his mind couldn't help but drift to last year...he should've realized from the beginning of that past year. When they lost Rose, and he realized how much he ignored Minerva, he resolved to focus entirely on Minerva and learn who she was. He didn't realize it then, their closeness, their bantering...it was because something had _clicked_. Something small, but that was how it started, no? He didn't want Minerva to see Leonardo Da Vinci anymore cause he claimed to her, and himself, that the man was twice her age and not good enough for her, but in reality...he might have been a little jealous. He didn't know it but his hearts did. How could he not realize his feelings for her sooner? How could he have been so stupid? He had to go and waste all that time because of his feelings for Kaeya. Minerva, she had always been there for him, even when he didn't deserve her. She always stood by him, comforted him, and was just...a best friend. He waited too long, wasted too much time, and now...now the clever girl was just gone.

And it was _his_ fault.

He should've ran faster, faster to grab her hands and pull her up. He didn't understand what she was doing in the engines in the first place, along with Astrid. He left them both to go and deal with the problem himself. But Minerva was Minerva, and he should've known she would've tried to come and help him. He should've done something...how useless he turned out to be. He could save everyone, six billion people of a planet...and he couldn't save his girlfriend?

There was a strong glow of blue emerging behind him, cutting off his solitary thoughts. He glanced over his shoulder just as a strong, icy-cold wind picked up. He turned around to see a blue light across from him, glowing stronger with each second.

"Show yourself," he ordered, not in the mood for another enemy.

A collection of silver particles collected at the center of the light until a form, a humanoid form, began emerging. The Doctor could hear overlapping words being whispered, but he couldn't make them out.

He covered his eyes as the light became an all-time brightness, nearly blinding one. And when it disappeared...

...Minerva fell forwards, unconscious.

"Minerva!" the Doctor shouted, running over and falling to his knees beside her, lifting her body up to his lap, "Minerva!? Minerva!?" he shook her, unable to grasp what had happened.

She was freezing cold, something no human could ever withstand. He listened intently to her heart and caught a faint beating, a normal beat for a human. While he checked her over, he didn't see that same blue light reappear at the top of the TARDIS, swirling around for a second or to before racing up to the sky and beyond.

"Minerva? Minerva, please wake up," the Doctor begged, his voice breaking as the clever girl remained unconscious, "Please, don't go. I need you, please," he pushed strands of her hair off her face, growing frantic and desperate as her eyes stayed closed, "I promise you I'll take better care of you. You'll be my life, my everything. Stay and I'll show you how much you mean to me, _please_ ," he shook her gently.

His hearts zinged when he felt her slightly move. She quietly fussed, her eyes opening halfway, "It's cold," she mumbled, her eyes snapping shut as her head lulled to his chest.

He let out a big laugh, a big shaky laugh with tears in her eyes. She was alive. She was alive and cold, but _alive_. She was with him again, in his arms, _breathing_! He couldn't grasp that idea of it happened but that cold, prickly wind seemed familiar...

But right now, he didn't give a damn.

...she was alive!

Minerva's eyes finally opened again, feeling doozy but she supposed that was what could happen after you died and came back to life, "Hi..." she whispered.

The Doctor's eyes shimmered with tears, "Hello," he whispered.

"Is it still Christmas?" her eyes looked around, slowly realizing she was in his lap with her Christmas date dress and he in his unlucky suit.

"Just for you."

"And Astrid? Is she okay?"

"Yes, you saved her you little hero," he tapped her nose, making her smile, "You died saving her..." his own smile faded, "...you died."

"I didn't die..." she closed her eyes as she tried recalling what had happened, "...I didn't even touch the fire. There was this light...and it was _cold_ ," the Doctor nodded, knowing he'd have to look into that as well, "But I had to save Astrid. She wanted to see the world and I already saw it. There was no more power to go down, but then...a blue light..." she whispered as she remembered that right before suddenly finding herself being teleported there had been some light near.

"Don't you _ever_ do that to me again," the Doctor begged her, resting his forehead on hers, his eyes closing as he took her in, her vanilla scent, her heart beat, her breath, her everything. She was here again and she would _never_ leave.

"I'll try," she stared at him, feeling guilty for putting him into that state.

But she had to do it. She couldn't let Astrid die, not when the blonde wanted to see the world like she did. Astrid had to survive and if Minerva died, she died trying to save another person. She couldn't think of a better reason to die: die to help someone else.

"I swear to you, Minerva Souza, I will never let you go again," he shut his eyes hard, like he was making a wish that he hoped with all he had would come true. But he was making an important promise, a swearing, that he intended to live up to until he died, "I am going to take care of you, make you happy, give you everything you deserve."

She smiled softly, her heart, beating slower as it was, skipped a few beats and there, "My Martian..." she whispered, her hand reaching up to his cheek, "...you are incredible."

"You know what?" the Doctor's eyes opened and lowered to her lips, "You've got to let me make my apology."

She noticed where his gaze had fallen to and managed to blush through her prickly cold skin, "I've gotta apologize too..."

That was his cue and he went straight for it. He kissed her with so much emotion, so much hunger, for her. He had to show her how much she meant, even if it was too early, even if it was their first date, she died and she had to know what that caused. He lifted her up in his arms as he stood up, the kiss never breaking as he fumbled his way to the TARDIS, the doors, for once, opening with ease. They closed after them, even locking on their own as the pair headed for the console.

The Doctor set her to her feet, his arm winding around her waist, his lips still attached to hers. His free arm found the controls and started up the TARDIS. The ship lurched soothingly for the first time, now in the Vortex.

"Mm, guess what?" the Doctor pulled back only _slightly_ as he still meant to kiss her more and more.

"What?"

"I met an Alonzo today," he informed, her eyes widening, "Mr. Frame of the ship."

"Alonsy Alonzo, hm," Minerva thought about it for a second, her hands staying put on his face, "Guess I should congratulate you for that," she pulled him back to his lips, setting soft, sweet, kisses on them, "You know what?" she mumbled against his lips.

"What?" he asked, muffled by their kisses.

"We're making out," she teased, biting back a chuckle, "My first make out."

"Hm, I just snogged the cleverest human," he smirked, kissing her a bit harder for effect.

"I'm making out with an _alien_ ," she pulled back, the thought of their different origins barely coming into mind.

"Is that a problem?" he asked with genuine nervousness.

She pretended to think hard on it, "Mm...I'm not sure...you're an alien...I'm a human..."

"Minerva..."

"Martian," she giggled again, and he sighed, "Why kiss a human when I can snog a Time Lord, ahem, Martian."

"I am not a Martian," he said tiredly. He cursed Donna Noble for giving her that name...

"Hm, I prefer Martian's to snog, perhaps I could go find one then."

He refused to let her go, "Maybe I can be a Martian for a little while."

"I thought so," she winked, resuming their snog session.

~ 0 ~

Isadora Lozano was busy baking snicker doodles for Christmas. She'd be spending it alone as her daughter was busy working and her son was some where in Switzerland apparently. There was a knock on the door, however, and she left her work to go answer the door.

She found her granddaughter, Minerva, with the Doctor...with interlaced hands. She raised her eyebrows, looking between one another. She just chuckled when they both blushed, no idea how to explain how it happened. But it wasn't a surprise, it was quite obvious, even from 1969, the Doctor's eyes glimmered each time he looked at Minerva. And Minerva, well, it was just plain obvious the moment she had returned.

"Think you can set two more plates for us, grandma?" Minerva asked.

"It would be am honor to spend Christmas with my granddaughter again, and her new boyfriend," she stepped aside and let them in.

"Merry Christmas, grandma," Minerva encased her in a big hug as soon as she had turned after closing the doors.

Minerva had died, and without saying goodbye to her grandmother. Now, she was alive, with her boyfriend and her grandmother. The Doctor figured after such an awful experience perhaps Minerva would like to spend a Christmas with her grandmother as well. He could run all those tests on her after Christmas. After the Master, Martha's departure, and the Titanic, she deserved a nice peaceful night. Minerva was completely excited to share a Christmas with him and her grandmother, claiming now she could teach him how to really bake the most delicious snicker-doodle cookies in the world with the help of the original baker, her grandmother.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! So, here we are...next chapter will have the amazing, the incredible, Donna Noble! ...along with the current issues of course .-.

So, not much to say for the time except hope you like what's happening and hopefully will be interested in what's going to happen...

Updates will remain as one time per week, maybe earlier, who knows how it will go. Until next time! :)


	2. Partners in Crime

"I've really got to go," Minerva giggled, receiving another kiss on her lips by her dear Martian.

"Why?" the Doctor nearly whined, refusing to let her go anywhere for the moment.

The two were in Minerva's room, Minerva just having woken up and moved down to the bed's foot, still laying on her back with the Doctor beside her, though he was propped up on his side with an elbow to support his head. She'd been greeted as usual with her milkshake the moment he had walked inside her room.

The Doctor had _finally_ learned how to use that blender and was allowed to freely use it, but _only_ the blender. Minerva wasn't very fond of him being in the kitchen alone and had practically forced him to sit down while she explained each and every button on the blasted blender. Though it took a little longer than she expected due to the Doctor's lack of attention. In his defense, he was busy staring at _her_ instead of the blender...but really, could he be blamed? Minerva simply elbowed him and forced him to listen again...and results arose a few months later.

He always had a breakfast milkshake ready to go for when she woke up. It conflicted him having to spend some hours alone because _he_ didn't need as much sleep as Minerva did. So when the time she usually woke up neared, he'd go in and make her the milkshake. And now that she was awake and wanted to leave...well...he wouldn't stand for that. _Especially_ when there was a James Mulvoy involved.

The Doctor severely disliked him.

"Come with _me_ instead," he insisted.

Minerva put a hand in front of her mouth before he leaned down to kiss her, "I just _graduated_ ," she reminded him, "And I still need to go pick up my diploma. Gotta have some proof I finally finished, right?"

"Well, yes, but that would imply you having to go see that guy again," the Doctor grumbled.

She giggled again, watching his face turn into a frown and a pout in less than a second. She knew exactly who he was talking about and why he didn't like the guy...James Mulvoy.

James Mulvoy was truly her favorite friend from high school. She joined a club of self-defense where he was an assistant to the actual teacher. The two had immediately hit it off and become close friends, even sharing some of the courses Minerva took on her Independent Studies. As soon as the Doctor had heard about this guy...he had expressed his dislike of the man. In reality, James had no other interest in Minerva except for friendship, as stated repeatedly by Minerva. But the Doctor wouldn't take a chance on him, no sir. He nearly punched Jerome back in 1969 but had to remember Minerva wasn't technically his and had to force himself to calm down. But now that they were finally together and could openly show his dislike for any other men that tried to make a move on her, he took great action.

"Come with me, then," Minerva offered, seeing it as a very easy way to solve the Doctor's silly jealousy feelings.

"I wish, but I've got to go to that Adipose institution, remember? Why don't you come with me and we go pick up the diploma tomorrow, instead?"

"I said I would stop by today, remember? I promised James."

And another round of frowns came from the Doctor, "So? blow him off."

"Okay, just because you're jealous, doesn't mean _I_ have to be rude. I said I was stopping by today and I'm gonna, so button it up and let me get dressed."

The Doctor opened his mouth to make another attempt when she grabbed his tie and pulled her down to plant a big kiss on his lips. She giggled when she pulled away and saw his dazed look, taking advantage and jumping off the bed as fast as she could before he snapped back to reality.

"That...that was cheating!" he sat up, frowning as he saw her going to her closet.

"No, I call it simply kissing my Martian boyfriend. It's not my fault you're very easily distracted," she winked at him.

"Please don't go," he sighed, genuinely asking her because he truly didn't want to take the chance of her and James.

Minerva chuckled, pulling out a green dress and studying it, "I told you, come with me."

He stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and stopping her from studying her dress, "Okay, tell you what, you come with me to the Adipose and I'll accompany you after to get your diploma."

"Will you be done by five? Because James said he'd only be there until five."

"Mm...yes," he rested his chin on her shoulder, a small smirk on his face that Minerva was unable to see yet she guessed it was there.

"I mean it, Doctor. I worked severely hard for this and I really want to hold my diploma and _see_ my work pay off," she turned around, the Doctor's smirk fading when she saw her genuinely pleading him.

The pair had desisted many trips over the course of several months so that Minerva could focus more on her schoolwork, the woman tired of being unable to graduate due to the lack of credits. So the Doctor had offered to help her, stopping many of their trips until she finished a certain amount of work to where she could finally make some progress. Finally, after five months, she finished. She finally finished, took her exit exams and graduated.

Minerva worked so hard for it and the Doctor would not allow his jealousy get in the way of her happiness.

"Okay, I'll be done by five and if not, then you go on without me to pick your diploma," he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Really?"

"Yes, really, you deserve it."

"Thank you!" she beamed, leaning up and pecking his lips, "Now get out! I gotta change!"

He smiled, leaning down to kiss her more deeply, "I'll be waiting."

She blinked as he pulled away, "Okay..." she mumbled, "...get out, now, please."

The Doctor, satisfied with his effect, turned and walked out of her room. Minerva slowly came around, remembering the task of taking out her clothes. She hated when that happened...and yet she liked it. Every time she forgot what to do it was because she had been kissed by her Martian and that was a lovely feeling that she would never give up.

~0~

Elsewhere, Donna Noble walked down a crowded street of London, carrying a red clipboard. She stopped at a high building, looking up at it. Before going towards it, she looked around. She _needed_ to. She always did when she was up to these sorts of things because perhaps, just maybe...a certain pair would be around as well, doing the same thing she was doing...

~0~

"You know, grandma said Marisol is taking those pills," Minerva was saying as she and the Doctor, hand-in-hand, walked up to the same building of Adipose Industries, "And apparently, the woman has lost twelve pounds. Maybe I should try them..."

"Don't you dare," the Doctor warned, shaking his head.

"Oh c'mon, ever since I've tried teaching you how to cook I've gained several weight," she mumbled, looking down to her stomach, "If the industry turns out to be okay I don't see why not..."

"Bring a weight-loss product into the TARDIS and I'll chuck it out to a black hole," he gave her a sharp look. He looked her over, finding her just perfect as she usually was, "You're fine."

"You're just saying that," she rolled her eyes, "Bet if you take a look at Marisol you might reconsider your relationship choices."

"Your snooty cousin has got nothing on you, dear," he kissed her cheek, "Personality and physically," he used the sonic on the fire exit of the industry building.

"Subtle," Minerva remarked after sparks flew out from the door, "But I'm serious! You've never met Marisol in person-"

"And I don't want to," he cut her off with haste, pulling her inside the building.

Marisol Souza was probably the most snooty, conceited, rudest person he had ever heard of. And that was just what he picked up from Minerva's and Isadora's stories. Marisol was two years older than Minerva and was apparently lurking her way into Minerva's home, specifically her mother. While Minerva still hadn't seen her parents, nor talked to them via phone, Minerva was well informed of everything that went on with them. Apparently, her mother had recently taken a great like to Marisol, trying to morph her into what Minerva had rejected years ago. The Doctor knew that despite Minerva's assurances she wasn't bothered her mother had taken what could be called a surrogate daughter, she was very _hurt_. Hurt that her mother had chosen to take a girl that wasn't even her own to treat as a daughter better than Minerva. She was hurt that when her mother _did_ make a call it was only to inform her of what Marisol had done and how Minerva should be doing it as well.

That mounted another layer of hatred the Doctor felt for Sophia.

Minerva wasn't letting it go, she felt she had to work to earn her mother's forgiveness, something he had just barely gotten her to let go with Isadora. After the traumatizing experience with the Master, Minerva felt like she could lose her family at any moment and for some inexplicable reason had decided to try and earn her mother's forgiveness, despite the Doctor continuously telling her Olivia's death _wasn't_ her fault. But unlike Isadora who never blamed Minerva, Sophia did not care how she affected her only daughter.

And the Doctor despised the woman for it.

~0~

Donna Noble sat inside a lecture room, listening to Miss Foster, head of Adipose Industries, who was stood on a platform.

"Adipose Industries. The 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is," Miss Foster held out a red and white capsule to the listeners, "You just take one capsule, one capsule, once a day, for three weeks. And the fat, as they say..."

"The fat just walks away."

"Excuse me, Miss Foster, if I could?" a young woman, a journalist, raised her hand, "I'm Penny Carter, science correspondent for The Observer. There are a thousand diet pills on the market, a thousand con men stealing people's money. How do we know the fat isn't going straight into your bank account?"

"Oh Penny, if cynicism burnt up calories, we'd all be as thin as rakes. But if you want the science, I oblige," Miss Foster gestured to the computer who began to speak and explain.

"Adipose Industries. The Adipose capsule is composed of a synthesized mobilizing lipase, bound to a large protein molecule. The mobilizing lipase breaks up the trigycerides stored in the adipose cells, which then enter..."

~0~

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Minerva were hearing everything from above inside a projector room. The Doctor showed the psychic paper tow the handler of the projector, "Health and Safety...Film department."

~0~

"100 percent legal, 100 percent effective," Miss Foster finished the presentation.

"But, can I just ask, how many people have taken the pills to date?" Penny asked.

"We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone. But from next week, we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here. And Britain will be thin."

~0~

Later on, Donna walked down the call center of the industry, plopping down in an employee's, Craig, section where he was currently speaking on the phone, "That's a three-week course of pills for a special price of 45 pounds."

"Donna Noble, Health and Safety. Don't mind me," the ginger whispered.

Not too far away, Minerva and the Doctor approached another employee, Clare, who was also speaking on the phone, "We deliver within three working days."

"John Smith, Minerva Souza, Health and Safety. Don't mind us," the Doctor whispered as they took a seat beside the woman.

Clare nodded, giving the Doctor a rather longer look for Minerva's taste.

~0~

"The box comes with 21 days' worth of pills, a full information pack, and our special free gift, an Adipose Industries pendant," Craig went on with his current phone call, Donna watching him intently.

~0~

"It is made of 18 carat gold, and it's yours for free. No, we don't give away pens, sorry. No, I can't make an exception, no," Clare also continued with her phone call except she was _still_ looking at the Doctor.

Minerva crossed her arms, her face beginning to turn into a glare, all unnoticed by the Doctor of course. His obliviousness hadn't really changed much...

~0~

Donna was putting a pendant into her pocket, "I'll just need to keep this for testing. And I just need a list of your customers. Could you print it off?"

"Suppose so," Craig said.

"Where's the printer?"

"Just over there, by the plant."

Donna stood up, looking for the printer, "Which plant, that plant?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Lovely," and she sat down...when the Doctor stood up from Claire's cubicle.

"That's the printer there?" he searched for the printer.

"By the plant, yeah," Clare nodded.

"Brilliant," he sat down.

Then Donna stood, "Does it need a code? Last place I worked, the printer needed a code."

"No, I can do it from here," Craig said and she sat down again...

The Doctor stood right back up, "Has it got paper?"

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked."

Miss Foster walked into the call center, two bodyguards behind her, "Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention," everyone stood up save the Doctor, Minerva and Donna, "On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day. It's not enough. I want one hundred sales per person per day. And if not, you'll be replaced. Cause if anyone is good in trimming the fat, it's me. Now. Back to it," with that she turned on her heels and left.

"So could you print that out, please," Minerva ordered Clare, her arms still crossed and her attitude very cold as the woman's eyes had lingered far too much on the Doctor. She just wanted to get the hell out of there with her Martian.

"So if you could just print off that list, I'll get out of your way," Donna smiled and stood up, "Lovely! Thanks, then. See you!" she walked over to the printer.

Clare had also finished making the print, "Thanks, then," the Doctor was able to say as he stood up, only to have Clare push him back down to his chair, "Oh, what's that?" he took a small paper from Clare.

"My telephone number," Clare smiled.

"What for?" the Martian was genuinely confused, he most certainly didn't need her phone number nor Minerva.

"Health and Safety. You be health, I'll be safety," Clare smirked.

" _That's_ it," Minerva stood to her feet, the Doctor immediately grabbing her arm.

"Aah. Aah. But. That contravenes ah, paragraph five, subsection C. Sorry," the Doctor also stood, his grip on Minerva tightening, "And plus, I've already got my own Safety," he shot a wink at Minerva who blushed, "And she's gorgeous so no thank you."

"I could've taken her down, you know," Minerva informed as they walked.

He smiled, kissing the top of her head, "I know."

~0~

"Stacy Campbell?" Donna asked when the door opened to one of the customers off the Adipose list.

A woman with brown hair and blue eyes, slightly confused, asked, "Who wants to know?"

"My name is Donna, I represent Adipose Industries," Donna flashed a card quite quick, "And you're on the list of our valued customers."

~0~

On another street, the Doctor knocked on a different door, doing his best to hide his frown when a man with grayish hair and blue eyes answered. Minerva had gone off for her diploma, on her _own_ unfortunately. His mind was like a battle station with the red flags and alerts going off.

He severely disliked James Mulvoy.

"Mr. Roger Davey, I'm calling on behalf of Adipose Industries," he flashed the psychic paper to the man, "Just need to ask you a few questions."

~0~

"It's been fantastic. I've started the pills on Thursday. Five days later, I've lost eleven pounds!" Stacy Campbell was telling Donna while she checked her self in a mirror, Donna sitting across her.

"And no side effects or anything?"

"No, I feel fantastic. It's a new lease of life. Now, what d'you think of these earrings, do they work?" Stacy pulled back her hair to allow Donna to see purple, dangly earrings.

"Yeah, lovely."

~0~

"I've been on the pills two weeks now, I've lost fourteen kilos," Roger explained to the Doctor, the Martian pacing casually as he listened.

"That's the same amount every day?"

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

The Doctor stopped pacing and looked up, "What makes you say that?"

"That's when I get woken up. Might as well weigh myself at the same time."

~0~

"You going on a date?" Donna asked, still watching Stacy fix herself in front of the mirror.

"I'm doing the opposite. I'm dumping him. I can do better than him now. Right, I won't be long. If the taxi beeps, give me a shout," Stacy rushed up the stairs.

~0~

The Doctor and Roger were outside Roger's home, looking up at the security alarm placed on top of his door.

"It is driving me mad. Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot without fail, the burglar alarm goes off. I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?" the Doctor asked, not quite believing this was a 'burglary' dilemma.

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

"Tell me Roger, have you got a cat flap?"

A couple minutes later, the two were on the floor studying the cat flap of Roger's house.

"It was there when I bought the house. Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person," Roger said, "They're nice and all but I never bothered."

"Kittens are nice," the Doctor said absently, "Very adorable," he thought back to the times he and Minerva had seen the adorable kittens, though poor Minerva couldn't get anywhere near them as she started with a fit of sneezing. He'd have to fix that allergy some time soon.

"It's that what it is then? Cats getting inside the house?" Roger asked.

"Well, thing about cat flaps is that they don't just let things in, they let things out as well."

"Like what?"

"The fat just walks away..." the Doctor reminded them, guessing it was probably more literal than the humans supposed.

~0~

"Won't be long!" Stacy shouted from the bathroom.

"That's alright!" Donna called from her spot in the living room. She pulled out the Adipose pendant she'd taken and started playing with it, twisting it.

Up in the bathroom, Stacy's stomach started moving, producing odd noises.

~0~

In Miss Foster's office, an alarm went off, the woman immediately picking it up on her computer, "We have unscheduled parthenogenesis."

~0~

"Well, thanks for your help," the Doctor stepped out of Roger's home, "Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so..." a device in his pocket started beeping. He took it out, "Ooh, gotta go, sorry," he ran off to follow the signal.

~0~

An Adipose broke off from Stacy's belly, the woman's eyes widening with horror.

"You all right up there?" called Donna from downstairs.

"Yeah..."

~0~

"The Adipose has been witnessed. Activating full parthenogenesis," Miss Foster twisted another Adipose pendant.

~0~

A second Adipose jumped out of Stacy and onto her sink, both it and the first waving at her.

"What? What are you? What _are_ you?" Stacy could only stare at the little things on her sink. More bumps appeared and disappear all over her body, the odd noises emerging again.

Donna had started making her way up the stairs, "I like what you've done in the hall. Stacy? Are you all right? I wouldn't mind a little visit myself. Everything all right in there?" she knocked on the bathroom door, "Only me. Do you mind if I pop to the loo? Stacy?"

"Help me! Oh my God, help me!" Stacy cried, unable to control her body anymore.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Donna tried to get in but the door was locked, "Stacy!"

Stacy screamed before falling apart into little Adipose. By the time Donna was able to get into the bathroom, only Stacy's clothes were on the floor. However, she was able to see one last Adipose waving at her from the window before jumping out.

~0~

Outside, the Doctor was running along the street, still trying to figure out where the signal was coming from. He stopped and looked at the device, banging on it and blowing before holding it out in front of him and rushing off.

~0~

In another street, Donna was also running following the trashcans that were turned over to the ground.

~0~

The Doctor stopped yet again, looking for a signal. The device dinged and he ran off. He stopped in the center of a road, barely dodging a van with its sirens on as it passed him. But the device dinged as soon as the van passed and he hurried after it, though it made a swift turned and disappeared.

~0~

The same van passed by Donna who discarded it as she was on her search for the little blob.

"Stacy Campbell?" a taxi driver stopped by her.

"No, she's gone," Donna replied, still looking around.

"Gone where?"

"She's just gone."

"Aw great, thanks for nothing," the taxi driver drove away.

~0~

In the next street, the Doctor was holding up his device, disappointed he had let the van go. With nothing else to do, he walked away, hoping Minerva was already back in the TARDIS and _away_ from James Mulvoy.

~0~

Miss Foster put on her glasses while she and her body guards were looking at the camera footage of the offices, "It seems that we have a case of industrial espionage. One touch and the capsule bio-tunes itself to it's owner, but someone must have introduced a second raw , one of these people is a thief. There, oh yes, there she is. Now... what should we do with her?"

~0~

Donna arrived home...where not a second later her mother started to make her usual remarks.

"And what time is this?"

Donna rolled her eyes, "How old am I?"

Sylvia came out into the front hall, "Not old enough to use a phone," she returned to the kitchen where Donna made some tea and sat down at the table, listening to her mother's ongoing lectures, "I thought you were only moving back for a couple of weeks. Look at you, I mean you're never gonna find a flat, not while you're on the dole. And its no good sitting there, dressed up, looking like you're job hunting, you've got to do something! It's not like the 1980s, no one's unemployed these days except you! How long did that job with Health and Safety last? Two days, and then you walk out. 'I have other plans', well I've not seen them. And it's no good sitting there dreaming, no one's gonna come along with a magic wand and make your life all better."

"Where is Granddad?" Donna rolled her eyes, having enough of the nagging.

"Where do you think he is! Up the hill. He's always up the hill."

~0~

Donna walked up a hill, her granddad walking out of a tin shed, "Aye, aye here comes trouble. Ha."

"Permission to board ship, sir?" Donna asked, waving a thermos in her hand.

"Permission granted. Was she nagging you?"

"Ha ha. Big time," her granddad, Wilf, sat down on a camp chair in front of his telescope, " Brought you a thermos."

"Oh, ta."

"You seen anything?"

"Yeah, I've got Venus, there with an apparent magnitude of minus 3.5. At least that's what it says in my little book," Donna pulled out a tarpin and sat down beside Wilf, "Here, come and see, come on, here you go," Donna took a look into the telescope, "Right? That's the only planet in the Solar System named after a woman."

"Good for her. How far away is that?"

"Oh, its about 26 million miles. But we'll get there one day. In a hundred years time we'll be striding out among the stars. Jiggling about with all them aliens. Just you wait."

"You really believe in all that stuff, don't you?"

"It's all over the place these days. If I wait here long enough..."

"I don't suppose you've seen a little blue box?" Donna gazed up to the sky, perhaps one day she would see that little blue box again.

"Is that slang for something?" Wilf asked, glancing at Donna while she looked up.

"No, I mean it. If you ever see a little blue box flying up there in the sky, you shout for me, Gramps. Oh, you just shout."

"You know, I don't understand half the things you say these days."

"Nor me."

"No, fair dos. You've had a funny old time of it lately. There was poor old what's his name, Lance, bless him... and that barmy old Christmas. I wish you would tell us what really happened," despite assurances from Donna that everything was fine, Wilf just knew that her granddaughter wasn't happy. She hadn't been ever since that marriage fiasco. He wished he knew how to help her.

"I know. It's just... the things I've seen. Sometimes I think I'm going mad. I mean even tonight I was in a... doesn't matter," Donna pulled a fake smile, everything she did to try to find the Doctor and Minerva was a secret. It was her secret.

"Well you're not yourself, I'll give you that. You just... you seem to be drifting, sweetheart."

"I'm not drifting. I'm waiting."

"What for?"

"An Auton..."

"A what?"

Donna sighed, while she hadn't paid attention to Minerva's words with caution, she still awaited for the day she would see an 'Auton' because meeting one would mean she would meet Minerva, and in meeting Minerva she would meet the Doctor again. It didn't matter if it was in the past, as Minerva had said, because in doing that, she would have had to meet the pair again and that's what she wanted more than anything now. So bring on an Auton because she was more than ready for it.

"You say the oddest things," Wilf shook his head.

"No gramps, because if I see one, then I get to see _them_ again."

"Who's 'them'?"

"Some people I just need to meet again. I met them just once...and then I let them fly away."

"Well there you are, go and find them, then!

"I've tried. But they're no where."

And indeed she tried. Since she figured the Doctor would be a little harder to find, she opted for Minerva's files. But it was odd, because despite the girl looking quite young, all her paperwork didn't list her parents' information. It was as if she was on her own..au

"Oi, not like you to give up. You know, remember when you were about six years old, your mother said no holiday this year. So off you toddled, all on your own and you got on a bus to Strathclyde! Hah! We had the police after you and everything! Ha, where's she gone then, where's that girl, hey?" Wilf chuckled, trying to cheer her up.

"You're right. Cause they're still out there, somewhere. And I'll find them Gramps, even if I have to wait a hundred years. I'll find them," Donna breathed, her gaze lifting up to the sky again.

~0~

In the TARDIS, the Doctor was busy looking at the golden Adipose capsule he took from Clare, through a magnifying glass, "Ohh, fascinating. Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for..." he looked up and frowned at his solitude.

Minerva wasn't back yet.

He could physically feel his blood boiling at the thought of James being with her. He really tried not to be so jealous because in a long shot it would only irritate Minerva and he didn't want to lose her. There was already so many things that were wrong and he didn't want to add something more to the list.

The doors opened, his head snapping over to see Minerva walking in, carrying a small bag in her arms, "Okay, it is freezing out there," she pointed back. She walked several steps forwards, stopping when he went around the console, "So guess what...?"

"What?" he raised an eyebrow, beginning to smile when she was practically forcing herself not to beam.

"I just..." she reached inside her bag, taking out a small folder, "...graduated!" she squealed, running over to him where she was met with open arms that took her into a spinning hug.

"That's is great! I'm so proud of you!" he set her down, allowing her to show him her diploma.

"Officially, eighteen and graduated," she waved it around, beaming brightly.

"Minerva Joycelin Souza," he read off, "Has completed her high school..."

"I did it, Doctor. I finally did it," she breathed in, taking the diploma from him, "Do you think my mom would be proud?"

He didn't reply for the moment and simply sighed. He really loathed how hard Minerva worked for something Sophia didn't deserve. He really needed Minerva to remain calm and not overwork herself. There were certain things she didn't know about just yet and he didn't want for those things to affect her even worse than they already were.

"She should be," the Doctor answered carefully, not wanting to ruin her happiness, "But most importantly, _you_ should be proud of yourself. Forget her, forget everyone else. Are _you_ proud of yourself?"

She considered it for a moment and nodded, "I made top twenty five, number five of the class...heck _yes_ I'm proud of myself!"

"Top five?" he had missed that certain piece of information apparently.

"Oh yes," she grinned, "I was number five of the highest GPA of the entire senior class. I'm good like that."

"That you are," he nodded, leaning down to kiss her.

"So where's my gift?" she murmured as she pulled back.

"How do you know I was going to give you something?"

"Because Martha said you should," she set the diploma on the chairs by the console, "That's what a good boyfriend would do. So gimme, gimme, gimme!" she wiggled her fingers towards him.

"Ah, but an _excellent_ boyfriend would do something better than give you a silly little object..." he pushed her hands down and used her wrists to pull her up against him.

"What are you planning, Martian?" she raised an eyebrow, noticing the mischievous look in his eyes.

"How would you like to go to somewhere special with me?"

"Will there be margaritas?"

"You are not allowed to have that," he reminded.

"It's not my fault I like them! Jack introduced them to me and I liked it...sue me..." she pouted for a second before reverting to her excitement, stepping closer to him and looking up with a sweet grin, "...so when exactly are we going? And _where_?"

"After we finish with the Adipose Industries problem, and the location is a secret," he tapped her nose.

"First of all, I'm gonna need more details on that location. Second of all, I was talking with Adela and James and she said she's been taking the pills and she's lost weight too so I was thinking maybe I could just take one little capsule-"

"That's it," he scooped her up into his arms.

"What are you doing you crazy Martian!?" she squealed.

"I'm getting you to a mirror because it's ridiculous you don't see your perfection."

"Yadda, yadda, I know I'm perfect, thank you very much, but I do need to lose some weight," she ran a finger along the side of his face and left a trail of kisses, the effect always getting her what she wanted from the Martian, "So c'mon, can't I get just one little bottle?"

"Mm, no, not even one little _capsule_ ," he snapped lightly, doing his best to ignore those lips of hers.

"You're mean," she pouted.

"And you're perfection, case closed," he grinned and walked towards the corridors, the human in his arms still complaining all the way.

~0~

The next day, Donna walked out of her house, her mother coming out behind dressed in a dressing gown and hair curler, "It's my turn for the car. What you need it for?"

Donna got into the car and started it up, "A quick getaway."

~0~

The Doctor was running around the console, pushing buttons while Minerva sat on the chairs, just watching him. She would've helped...if he had let her use those pills...

~0~

Donna parked her car in a small alley way, getting out and locking then walked away...unable to catch the TARDIS materializing a few feet behind the car.

"You coming or not?" the Doctor asked Minerva, waiting by the doors, the clever girl still on the chairs, her legs swinging back and forth like a child.

"Don't know..." she looked around.

"Minerva, I swear I will come over and throw you over my shoulders if I have to."

"And then what?"

"Are you really mad at me because I won't allow you to take the stupid capsules? You know they're bad for you, and these are _severely_ bad for you," he walked over to her, taking her hands into his.

"I know, but..." she sighed, "...it's just, Marisol-"

"Dear, no offense, but who cares about her?"

"My mom does..."

"Okay, forgetting about Sophia, be honest with yourself...do you _really_ want to take the capsules?"

"Honest, honest?" she looked up, the Doctor nodding and so she sighed, "No, I don't want to. It's true, I gained weight...but I don't think it was that noticeable."

" _That's_ the Minerva I like to hear," he kissed her forehead.

"But, maybe if I looked as good as Marisol did, perhaps it could get me on my mother's good side and-"

He placed his finger over her lips, a stern look on his face, "Your mother should love you because you're her daughter, not cause you're trying to be what she wants you to be."

"But I can't help to try. I remember all the awful treatment the Master gave them and I..." she sighed and shook her head.

"Don't get sad, please," he kissed her forehead, "I can't stand those eyes of yours being sad."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down in shame.

She was never one to doubt her looks. She wasn't conceited but she just had good self-esteem. She knew she wasn't that beautiful like a super-model but she didn't consider herself to be that ugly either. But in those last few months she had spent working on her diploma her mother had picked up a...a surrogate daughter...and it deeply hurt her. It truly did. No matter how angry she was with her mother for everything...she couldn't help her heart break knowing Sophia preferred another girl who wasn't hers as a daughter. So, subconsciously, nearly everything Minerva did was to try and garner her mother's affection, forgiveness. It was like her anger had been pushed aside as she realized the most important thing, Sophia was her mother and Minerva missed her deeply. She was trying, she was actively trying to forget her anger and try to work for Sophia's forgiveness...but so far, Sophia didn't seem to care.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything, clever girl," the Doctor took her hands and pulled her to her feet, "You're amazing, you're intelligent, bloody gorgeous," he kissed her cheeks, "Kind, unlike the snooty cousin you have, and you're generous, very, but _very_ sweet," he lifted her chin and gave her a deep kiss, one that would prove just how much he thought of her.

"I like her too," she whispered.

"So now that we've established that, how's about we go infiltrate some Adipose Industries, eh?"

She smiled, "Is that a date?"

"Yup!"

"I gladly accept, Martian," she looked down at her clothes, tilting her head, "Are these clothes acceptable for a date?"

She wore black boots with small heels, black jeans tucked underneath them with a halter-top, dark purple blouse and a black jean jacket to cover her arms. Her hair was down with a small purple bow on the side of her head.

"Always," the Doctor smiled at her, taking her hand and leading her out.

~0~

Donna walked into the washroom of the industry, going into a stall and checking her watch...it would be a long day.

~ 0 ~

Meanwhile, Miss Foster walked down the call center, her two bodyguards following her, "Keep an eye out . She'll come back and then she's mine."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva walked down the same corridor of the fire exit. They stopped at a storage closet where the Doctor used the sonic to open it up, allowing his "date" inside first. He followed and soniced it shut.

"So..." he turned to her, a playful smile on his face as he stepped closer to her, "...what shall we do on this date?"

Minerva raised an eyebrow, seeing exactly where he was going with it, "I've got a perfect idea," she announced, her own smirk forming, her hand reaching for her back pocket.

"Really?" he rested a hand on her waist, "Shall I begin?"

He closed his eyes and leaned down to kiss her...when he felt a finger on his lips. He opened his eyes and found her holding up her mp3 player, a broad smile on her face.

"I want to listen to my song," she announced, sticking in her two earphones and starting the song, humming as it started.

The Doctor sighed, oh he _really_ needed to get rid of that mp3 player. He cursed Martha for giving it to her. That thing had been the cause of disruptions to many of his potential snogging sessions.

That thing would disappear one of these days...

"Minerva?" he whined, the woman bobbing her head as small 'oh's' came out of her. He frowned and stood straight, this time the mp3 would _not_ win.

He plucked an earphone from her, Minerva blinking as she was startled, "Doctor, I was listening..." she began but the Martian had pressed his lips on hers, pulling out her other earphone a second later, "...you cheated," she smiled, stepping back with him, her arms going around his neck.

"I'm smart," he corrected, saving her mp3 in one of his pockets.

"Cheater," she murmured before he resumed their kiss.

~0~

At about 6:10, the building was emptied out as the employees had all gone home.

The door of the storage closet opened and out came Minerva, holding her mp3 play with a sly grin as she turned to the right. The Doctor came out a few seconds after, his face completely dazed and his hair all over the place...that woman sure knew how to make her arguments...

"Doctor, coming?" Minerva called, glancing back.

"Yeah, yeah," he cleared his throat, coming up beside her and taking her hand.

She wrapped an arm around his neck and fixed his messy hair with an innocent smile. She then pulled him down for another kiss, making it as loving as possible to re-establish she was keeping her mp3.

She loved that mp3...it always led to snogging in the end!

~0~

Donna flinched when her cellphone went off, still inside the stall of the washroom, "Not now!" she whispered.

"I need the car! Where are you?" Sylvia demanded.

"I can't. I'm busy."

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm in church."

"What are you doing in church?"

"...Praying!"

"Bit late for that, madam."

"What's she in church for?" Wilf asked Sylvia, happening to be in the kitchen during the time.

"Hush, you. Go up the hill!" Sylvia waved him off and spoke into the phone again, "But I need the car. I'm going out with Suzette. Shes asked all the Wednesday girls, apparently she's been on those Adipose pills. She says she looks marvelous."

But Donna heard the doors of the washroom being opened and hung up. It was Miss Foster with her two body guards, "We know you're in here, so why don't you make this nice and easy and show yourself?" Donna pulled her legs up, "I'm waiting. I warn you, I'm not a patient woman. Now, out you come," but no one came out, "Right. We'll do it the hard way. Get her!"

The body guards started kicking open stall by stall...finding Penny, the journalist in the stall before Donna.

"There you are," Miss Foster said, the woman stepping out by the guards.

"I've been through the records, Foster, and all of your results have been faked. There's something about those pills you're not telling us," Penny spat.

"Oh, I think I'll be conducting this interview, Penny," Miss Foster turned around, the bodyguards pushing Penny after her.

Donna poked her head out the stall once they were gone, going after to follow them.

~0~

"You are so mad," Minerva declared as the Doctor helped her into a window cleaner's cradle and switched it to descend.

"And you so like it," he tapped her nose.

She opened her mouth to make an argument but shrugged, "Yeah, I do. What's a date without adrenaline?"

The cradle stopped outside Miss Foster's office, the pair ducking down before they were seen.

Inside, Penny was struggling for her freedom, but the bodyguards were too strong, "This is ridiculous!"

"Sit there," Miss Foster ordered.

"I'm phoning my editor."

"I said sit."

Penny was pushed down by the bodyguards and tied up, "You can't tie me up. What sort of a country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully fat country. And believe me, I've traveled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

"So come on then, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?"

Donna had snuck over to the front door of the office, watching and listening with caution.

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed. This," Miss Foster lifted a capsule, "Is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly attracts them, that part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanizes it to form a body."

"Well, what d'you mean 'a body'?" Penny stopped her struggle for freedom, that last bit sounding...scary.

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster, as in foster mother. And these," Miss Foster put an Adipose on the table, "Are my children."

"You're kidding me. What the hell is that?" Penny's eyes widened.

The trio in hiding, in their respective hiding places, rose up to look through the windows.

"Adipose. It's called an Adipose. Made out of living fat. Stripped from ordinary human..." Miss Foster said proudly.

"Oh my god..." Minerva tilted her head, nudging the Doctor, "...I spy a ginger!"

He looked ahead and saw Donna across from the, all three gaping with shock.

"Donna?" he mouthed.

"DOCTOR!" Donna mouthed right back.

'But... what? Wha... What?!'

'OH MY GOD!'

'But... how?'

'It's me!'

'Well, I can see that!'

'Oh this is brilliant!'

'But what are you doing there?'

Minerva looked from one to the other, propping her elbows on the rails of the cradle, amused by the miming that was actually very well done. Her Martian was just brilliant at that too.

'I was looking for you!' Donna continued to mouth.

'What for?!' the Doctor asked.

"I, came here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You! Cos they..."

"Doctor," Minerva nodded towards Miss Foster, who had caught on, "We should go..."

"Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster asked mighty loud so both would hear.

"Run!" Minerva shouted, Donna able to catch the mouthing.

"Get her!" Miss Foster ordered, the Doctor soniced the office door with the screwdriver, allowing Donna some time to run. He used it on the cradle next to go back to the roof, "And them!" Miss Foster watched the pair go up.

~0~

The trio met up by the alcove of the stairs, Donna encasing both of them in a big hug, "Oh my god, it's you!"

"Donna Noble, I thought we'd never see you again," Minerva chuckled.

"Oh my God! I don't believe it! You've even got the same suit!" the ginger looked the Doctor over, completely aghast, "Don't you ever change?"

"He does," Minerva nodded, "I send him myself."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Yeah, thanks, but not right now!" he looked down and saw the guards coming, "Just like old times!" he grabbed Minerva's hand and started back up the stairs, Donna quickly after them.

They returned to the roof where Donna had started to babble excitedly, "Cause I thought, how do I find the Doctor? And then I just thought, look for trouble and then he'll turn up!"

"Good start," Minerva remarked.

"You're no easier to find!" she frowned, "You're human and you're records are all screwed up!"

"How do you mean?" Minerva became confused.

"So I looked everywhere, you name it," Donna had continued her babble, not catching the question, "UFOs, sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet he's connected. Cause the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean that's gotta be a hoax!"

"Not really, we were there," Minerva replied.

The Doctor had gotten busy working on the cradle's controls with the sonic, catching about one sentence, "What d'you mean, the bees are disappearing?"

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet," Donna shrugged, the Doctor climbing up the cradle, "Well on the same site, there was all the conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries, I thought let's take a look!"

"In you get!" he helped Minerva inside again.

"What, in that thing?" Donna blinked.

"Yes in that thing!"

"It's a bit more fun than it looks," Minerva shrugged.

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again."

"No no no, cause I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one who can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is very unlikely."

And then Minerva smacked him upside the head, "Why do you gotta say things like that? Your mouth is 95% jinx-magnet."

"What's the other 5%?" he frowned, genuinely wanting to know.

"Sweet talk," she nodded, admitting it always got her, though that didn't stop her from elbowing him in the ribs due to his smirk.

Miss Foster approached the edge of the roof, looking down to see the trio descending, "Oh, I don't think so," she used her sonic pen to accelerate the cradle.

The Doctor then stopped it with the screwdriver before he and the women fell to the floor. He quickly stood up and tried opening the nearest window with the sonic.

"Hold on. Hold on, we can get in through the window."

Miss Foster spoke to her wrist communicator, "Deadlock the building."

"Can't get it open!"

Donna lifted a large spanner from the cradle, "Well smash it then!"

Minerva crossed her arms and stared at the pair, Donna simply tapping the window with the spanner while the Doctor continued using the screwdriver. She bit her laugh and shook her head, "You two are just geniuses."

Miss Foster pointed her sonic to the cradle's cable, making them spark and smokey.

"She's cutting the cable!" Minerva had looked up at the sound, "Doctor!" she grabbed onto the rails, the Martian doing the same...

...Donna not having the same luck.

"Donna!" they shouted, poor Donna hanging onto the broken cable below, "Hold on!"

"I AM!" she cried.

They tried to pull her up by the cable but it wasn't working and they were running out of time.

"And now, for the other one," Miss Foster used the sonic on the second cable but the Doctor used his screwdriver on her pen, making it sparkle until she dropped it down, "Ah!"

The Doctor caught the pen, and climbed up the cable, "Minerva?"

"I'm coming!" she shouted, though she gave a quick glance below to see Donna, "But hurry!"

He managed to open the window as Minerva neared up. He climbed inside, falling to the floor on his back. Minerva poked her head inside, laughing at him, "Stupid Martian," she was going to make her swift entrance when he pulled her down as well.

"I don't think I'm that stupid," he smirked, pecking her lips.

"Oh, hello," she blinked, giving him one more peck but they got up from the floor.

~ 0 ~

"This is all your fault. I should've stayed at home!" poor Donna yelled, still clinging on for her life.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva ran into Miss Foster's office where Penny was still tied up, "Is anyone gonna tell me what's going on?" she demanded as they opened the window.

"What, you're a journalist?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes."

"Well, make it up!" he tried grabbing Donna's legs.

"Oi, not _all_ journalists make things up," Minerva exclaimed, "Sarah Jane Smith does a fantastic job and she's honest!"

"Fair enough," he nodded, concerned more with the fact Donna wasn't allowing him to help her.

"Get off!" she shouted.

"I've got you! I've got you. Stop kicking!" he managed to pull her inside.

"I was right. It's always like this with you, innit?" she breathed, looking between them.

"Kinda," Minerva nodded, "But it's more fun like this."

"And off we go!" the Doctor said, the trio running out.

"OI!" Penny shouted, the Doctor popping back inside.

"Sorry!" he used the sonic to release her and ran off, popping back a second alter, "Now do yourself a favor, get out."

He and Donna ran across the call center, the Doctor a bit alarmed to see Minerva going around the edge of the room, partially hidden by the small cubicles. However, his attention was diverted to Miss Foster and her body guards who were across from them.

"Well then," Miss Foster took her glasses off, "At last."

"Hello," Donna greeted.

" Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."

"And I'm Donna."

"Partners in crime. And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology," Miss Foster said, not too pleased.

"Oh yes, I've still got your sonic pen. Nice, I like it. Sleek, it's kinda sleek," he showed it to Donna, quickly looking around, even more alarmed now that he didn't see Minerva anymore.

"Oh it's definitely sleek," Donna nodded.

"Yeah, and if you were to sign your real name that would be...?" the Doctor asked the woman.

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class."

"A wet nurse, using humans as surrogates."

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

One body guard went down all of a sudden, Minerva dusting her hands off behind him, looking up to see everyone staring at her, "James is awesome!" she grinned, her self-defense moves coming in handy even with pressure points. The Doctor cleared his throat, evidently clear he disliked that statement, "Oh but not as much as you," she ran over to him, pecking his lips.

"Hold on..." Donna's eyes widened, pointing at the pair.

"Right, back to the point," Minerva fixed herself, "Sorry, looks like one body guard is down, probably will be for a while. But I couldn't help to listen about a planet being _lost_...how does one lose a _planet_?" she raised an eyebrow, "I mean, misplace a book, glasses...sure...but a planet?"

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents," Miss Foster replied.

"What, like an outer space super-nanny?" Donna asked.

"Yes, if you like."

"So... so those little things they're, they're made out of fat yeah, but that woman, Stacy Campbell, there was nothing left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor Stacy?"

"Seeding a level 5 planet is against galactic law," the Doctor reminded.

"Are you threatening me?" Miss Foster raised an eyebrow.

"I'm trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance; cos if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets."

"No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before... dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"

"No..."

"Nor me, lets find out!" he pointed the screwdriver and pen together, creating an awful noise.

Everyone held their hands to their ears, the noise too much. Minerva pushed the Doctor and stopped him, reminding him to _run,_

Miss Foster spoke into her communicator, "I'm advancing the birth plan. We're going into premature labor."

~0~

The trio arrived at the storage cupboard where the Doctor started throwing its supplies out.

"What happened between you two?" Donna just _needed_ to ask.

"How do you mean?" Minerva had joined in on the supply throwing.

"Wedding day, you two were friends, today...you... _kiss_?"

"Oh that..." Minerva considered explaining it but there was small time to do so, "...long story!"

The Doctor had opened up the back of the cupboard to reveal a green machine built into the wall, "Hacking in to this thing, cos the matron's got a computer core running through the center of the building. Triple deadlocked. And now I've got this," he held up her sonic pen, "I can get into it."

~0~

Back in Miss Foster's office, however, was another green machine built into her wall.

"What does that thing do?" Penny asked, having been tied up yet again.

"It's the inducer. We had planned to seed millions, but if that man's an alien then he's alerted the Shadow Proclamation, so the first one million humans will have to do," Miss Foster turned to her body guards, "Find him, and the women. Don't waste time, just kill them."

~0~

"She's wired up the whole building. We need a bit of privacy," the Doctor held two sparkling plugs, making lightning emerge from the walls which stunned the guards, "Just enough to stop them. Why's she wired up the tower block? What's it all for?"

 _"Inducer online."_

"Anything I can help with?" Minerva stepped beside him, seeing the possibility of that being very slim.

"Not really, love, sorry."

She nodded, internally wishing she could be just as smart as he was so she could help him. This was one of the consequences of their different origins...no matter how clever she claimed to be, she would never compare to what a woman of his species could be, a Time Lady. The Doctor held her hand, kissing the back of it to assure her it was alright she couldn't help, he understood and he didn't mind. Minerva faintly smiled, thanking the heavens he could look past her human defects.

Donna studied the pair, the thing of them being an actual item still not settling in her mind, "I noticed things have changed between you two," she said quietly, afraid this change could affect her possible chance of coming on-board the TARDIS.

"Right, I was angry with you at the time," Minerva said to the Doctor.

"What? What had I done?" the Doctor asked, sounding defensive and a child.

Minerva crossed her arms, "You called me Rose... _twice_. I nearly walked out of your life."

He looked back to his work, trying to forget that day. It had been the most horrific day since the Time War. He lost Rose and nearly lost Minerva as well and _both_ were his fault.

"Hey, I'm not mad anymore," Minerva turned his head to her.

Truly, she wasn't. She understood now, the Doctor had cared for Rose not _loved_ her. His feelings were all mixed up, his head jumbled with Rose, saving Donna from the Racnoss and keeping Minerva and himself safe. It was an outburst of everything. It didn't mean it didn't still hurt her, but it didn't mean she was angry that something happened out of a genuine mistake. She tried not to talk so much of that time, especially of Rose. She still didn't feel comfortable talking about the blonde, her guilt for taking the man Rose loved and because of attitude Rose had given in the end. The Doctor had no idea what Rose had become to Minerva during their last months together and Minerva intended to keep it that way. It was the least she could do after taking him...

"Never again, though," the Doctor whispered to her, his hand reaching to her cheek, "You're my Clever Girl. _Mine_."

"You're my Martian," she smiled softly, nuzzling to his touch.

"My Minerva, _Minerva_ ," he gently leaned to kiss her.

Donna looked away at the small moment, feeling a _big_ change had truly happened since the last time she'd seen them.

Minerva suddenly remembered they weren't alone anymore and turned to Donna, "Sorry about that. We're not used to having another person with us," she rubbed her neck out of embarrassment.

Truly, they hadn't. They had been on their own since Martha left them, occasionally dropping by to see only Minerva's grandmother, Isadora. Martha had been far too busy for a visit and Minerva really didn't want to be imprudent especially after hearing she was nearly done with her studies. Other than that, it was the Doctor and Minerva. They had their small moments that went on for hours, uninterrupted.

The only other person they'd stopped by to see was Astrid from the Titanic. After the Doctor told Minerva of Astrid's refusal to travel in the TARDIS thinking Minerva was dead, Minerva immediately made the Doctor take them to the blonde and Mr. Copper. Astrid had literally cried of joy upon seeing the walking and talking brunette. She'd apologized endlessly to Minerva, still believing it had been her fault Minerva had been close to death in the first place. Minerva would have none of that and explained about the blue light that had mysteriously saved her from the engine's wrath. If anything, _Minerva_ was the one that felt awful for putting her and the Doctor through so much angst. As an apology, she and the Doctor had taken her and even Mr. Copper for a nice trip to any place Astrid wanted.

"It's just...well," Donna looked from one to the other, truly no words coming to mind, well save these three, "You look older."

"I'm eighteen, now," Minerva shrugged, "The Doctor just always looks older."

"Watch it," he warned as he worked.

"You know it's attractive," she kissed his temple.

"Thanks," he beamed.

"Still on your own, then?" Donna asked, though the answer was pretty clear after Minerva's words.

"Yup," the Doctor answered without actually thinking.

"No," Minerva corrected, "We had this friend, Martha she was called. Martha Jones. She was brilliant...she was my best friend."

"...and I destroyed half her life," the Doctor had to put in a comment.

Minerva sighed, tired of hearing that from him. But the Doctor maintained his stance on Martha's family. The Master was _his_ responsibility and had hurt Martha, Martha's family, Minerva's family and Minerva. He was responsible for it and partly the reason for Martha's departure. Worse than that, it was his fault for what was happening to Minerva as well...

"No, you didn't," Minerva shook her head, "Martha is just fine, she's just gone to make her own life."

"What about Rose?" Donna asked, both pair stiffening with silence.

"Still lost," the Doctor said quietly, pausing, wanting to change the subject before Minerva became upset. He knew that topic wasn't easy for Minerva's based on her previous thoughts of his affection for the blonde. He'd rather not talk about her at all, "I thought you were going to travel the world?"

Donna sighed at her failure, "Easier said then done. It's like I had that one day with you and I was gonna change. I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try, I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

"What offer?"

"To come with you."

"You'd come with us?"

"Oh yes, please!"

"Right..." the Doctor quickly looked at Minerva, unsure how Minerva would take Donna's sudden arrival.

Martha's departure was hurtful. She was Minerva's best friend, and she had already lost Mickey, _twice_. Would she dislike Donna if she came with them?

 _"Inducer activated."_

"What's it doing now?" Minerva asked.

"She's started the program!"

~0~

Sylvia was at a restaurant, eating with her friends, Suzette going on about the Adipose capsules.

"I swear that Adipose treatment is fabulous. Just look at my chin. And it's very good for back fat. I'm down two sizes!"

"It's like a miracle. All that from just one little pill!" Sylvia laughed

"And I've been eating like normal," but then Suzette flinched as her back twitched.

"You all right, love?"

"Yeah, I'm just... funny sort of feeling like a..."

Other people in the restaurant started doing the same, feeling the same twitches as Suzette.

"Better pop to the loo," Suzette stood from her seat, but her back started bulging out.

"Oh, my God, Suzette!" Sylvia stood up, appalled.

"What? What is it? Get it off me!" Suzette spun around, trying to see what was on her back.

Sylvia ran over and pulled Suzette's shirt on her back, revealing an Adipose that waved up at them. Several more people in the restaurant started getting the same bumps, Adipose bursting out of them and making their way to the streets.

~0~

"So far they're just losing weight, but the Matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis," the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, helpless with the machine in front of him.

"That's when they convert..." Minerva whispered, thinking back to her cousin, Marisol. She might dislike her but she sure didn't wish for her cousin's death!

"Skeletons, organs, everything. A million people are gonna die!"

"Then cancel the signal!"

He pulled out the golden capsule and pulled a side off to reveal a chip inside, "This contains the primary signal. If I can switch it off the fat goes back to being just fat," he hooked up the capsule to the machine.

~0~

"A nice try. Double strength," Miss Foster pushed down the lever completely.

 _Inducer increasing._

~0~

"No no no no no, she's doubled it, I need... Haven't got time! It's too far, I can't override it! They're all gonna die!" the Doctor cried.

"Is there anything I can do?" Donna offered.

"Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you! Gotta double the base pulse, I can't..."

But Donna wouldn't have any of that, "Doctor, tell me what do you need."

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them!"

While he fiddled with the switches, Minerva watched Donna hold up her own gold capsule, "Oh you are good," she remarked, the Doctor looking over and seeing the capsule, "Doctor, she is so coming with us!"

Donna beamed at the woman's approval. Minerva wouldn't mind having her around!

The Doctor took the second gold capsule and plugged it in to the machine, the green lights going off, "It's stopped! They've gone!"

~ 0 ~

Miss Foster flicked on the switches but nothing was working anymore. Everything was shut down.

"What's happened?" Penny tried peering around the woman from her chair.

"I think the Doctor happened. But we've still given birth to ten thousand Adipose. And the nursery is coming," Miss Foster moved to the windows when a loud horn rang, "It's my lift home!"

~0~

"It just stopped," Suzette stood to her feet with Sylvia's help.

And then they heard the horn.

"What on earth this is now? Oh my god!" Sylvia looked out the window to see a large spaceship flying over London.

The spaceship flew over the Adipose Industries building where thousands of Adipose were cheering for their ride home.

~0~

"Fine. When you say nursery you don't mean a creche in Notting Hill..." Donna looked from the Doctor to Minerva.

"Nursery _ship_ ," the Doctor reminded.

"I think he meant that quite literally," Minerva put a hand on the ginger's arm.

The comp unit lighted up again, "Incoming signal," and an alien language started playing.

"What's it saying?" Minerva asked as the Doctor leaned to the machine.

"Instructions from the Adiposian First Family."

~0~

Miss Foster stood on the street, at the head of all the Adipose babies, "Children! Oh my children, behold. I am taking you home," the Adipose cheered, "Far across the galaxy, your new mummies and daddies are waiting. And you will fly!" a blue light levitation beamed down from the ship, levitating everyone including Miss Foster, "Up you go, babies. Up you go! That's it, fly away home!"

~ 0 ~

"She's wired up the tower block to convert it into a levitation post," the Doctor was still listening to the instructions, "Oh. Ooh. We're not the ones in trouble now. _She_ is!"

"How do you mean-Ah!" Minerva yelped when he yanked her out of the room, Donna running after.

They returned to the roof, watching the Adipose babies flying up to the nursery ship. Minerva, in awe, walked up to the edge, resting her arms on the rails, smiling and waving at the little babies. They were kinda cute, she thought, they looked like little marshmallows!

"What you gonna do then? Blow them up?" Donna asked the Doctor, both of them remaining back.

"They're just children. They can't help where they come from," he replied, his gaze landing on Minerva as he thought.

She and the small Adipose babies did have one similarity. The Adipose babies were innocent who were born out of an woman's wrongful actions. Minerva was the sweetest thing in the world and was the product of a horrible woman with no warm feelings for her daughter.

"Oh, that makes a change from last time," Donna remarked, following his gaze to Minerva, "Wonder how that happened..."

He smiled softly, "She kept her reigns real good. She and Martha, anyways."

"Mm, but it looks like Minerva might have completely let go of hers," Donna smirked.

"Oh quiet. She's actually kept them, for your information."

Minerva, despite their newly found relationship, was still as strict as ever with her principles. Sure, he might have a new way of escaping her lectures...a few kisses here...a few sweet words there...but she always knew how to keep him on check.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Bye, bye," Minerva waved at the Adipose, "Fly back to your mommies and daddies. I'm sure they'll love you..." her smile faded a bit as her mind wandered back to her own parents.

Miss Foster soared up to the level of the trio, the Doctor and Donna running over to Minerva's side, "Matron Cofelia, listen to me!" the Doctor yelled.

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it will be too soon," she smiled.

"Oh, why does no one ever listen? I'm trying to help! Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?"

"Just listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions - they know it's a crime, breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!"

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children."

"Yeah, but children don't want a nanny, they want their _mom_ ," Minerva said, speaking from her own experience. She loved her grandmother, she did, but a mother was a mother and it was something a child would always need.

The light vanished, Miss Foster having only a mere second before plummeting down. The trio looked away in sorrow for the dead woman.

~0~

The Doctor threw Miss Foster's sonic pen into a bin, lost in his thoughts. Minerva took his hand, offering a comforting smile even if she wasn't exactly well either.

"Oi, you three!" Penny the journalist crept out of the building, still tied to her chair, "You're just mad. Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm gonna report you... for madness!"

"You see, some people just can't take it," Donna observed, a hint of pride in her tone.

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

"But some people can. So, then - TARDIS! Come on!" she pulled them away to the alleyway where her car was parked...and the TARDIS, "That's my car! That is like destiny! And I've been ready for this," she open the trunk of her car which was full of suitcases, "

"I packed ages ago, just in case. Cause I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather..." she loaded her luggage on the Doctor's arms, Minerva stepping away and watching with amusement, "...they go anywhere, I've gotta be prepared," she threw a hatbox on top.

"You've got a... a... hatbox?!" Minerva chuckled, going to the trunk of the car to see what else the ginger had brought.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" Donna rushed to the TARDIS doors where she babbled like crazy, the Doctor following, "Do I need injections though, do I? Like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? Cause my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and..." Donna noticed the Martian's serious look, "You're not saying much."

"No, it's just..." the Doctor set down the luggage beside, thinking of a delicate way to explain his uneasiness of her coming along.

"You don't want me," Donna said with realization.

"I'm not saying that," he pointed out.

It's not that he didn't want her to come along, he thought she was fantastic! But his mind wandered back to Rose for some reason...the uneasiness Minerva felt all last year about the blonde. It pained him that _he_ had put her through all that doubt, along with Kaeya. He didn't want some of that uneasiness to flow to Donna.

"But you asked me..." Donna whispered, glancing at Minerva who had found another hatbox in the car.

"Look, Donna, it's a bit complicated, you remember Rose right?" the Doctor sighed, Donna nodding silently, "I made a mistake last year, and the year before...and they both hurt Minerva. I won't ever make those mistakes again," he said firmly, "Minerva's a bit insecure because of _my_ indecision from last year..." Donna nodded again, following so far, "Rose was someone I cared for but only as a friend, Martha was a best friend to Minerva, and I'd like for you be a friend as well. I want to make it clear, I just want a mate."

Donna's eyes widened with horror, "You just want _to mate_?"

"I just want _a_ mate!" he quickly corrected, but Donna was more than horrified, going as far as hiding behind the TARDIS doors.

"You're not mating with me, sunshine! What about Minerva? MINERVA!" she shouted with fear.

Minerva quickly ran over, noticing Donna's fear and her hiding back behind the door, "What's up?"

"Your boyfriend wants to mate with me!" the ginger hid entirely behind the doors, only her finger visible as it pointed to the Doctor.

"I-I don't!' the Doctor was in a fit of stuttering as Minerva turned to him, "I-I don't, honest I d-don't!"

"Is there something we need to talk about?" the brunette raised an eyebrow.

"No! I didn't say that! _She_ misheard me!" he pointed at Donna, her head poking out of the door, "I don't want to mate with her! I'd only want to mate with _you_!"

"Think real hard of what you just said," Minerva bit back her smile, blushing lightly.

It didn't take long for him to realize that and shook his head, blinking rapidly and blushing like mad, "Well, n-n-not that...not yet, well, no, not if you don't want to, but not yet-" he was forced to stop when Minerva had leaned up to kiss him.

Upon hearing quietness, Donna poked her head out the door again, breathing a sigh of relief at the two kissing. She stepped put of the box, fixing herself, "Well, nice to see that's been clarified."

Minerva was the first to pull away, her hands resting on the Doctor's face, "Yeah...my Martian is an idiot," she laughed at his pout, "But he's a handsome, harmless idiot."

"Minerva, in all seriousness though, I don't want anything to do with your boyfriend," Donna stepped up, just needing to clarify that for all of their sake's, "I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean he's just a long streak of... nothing. You know, alien nothing."

Minerva busted out laughing, the Doctor frowning at Donna, "That's not nice," he declared.

"Well it's the truth!" Donna looked him over, not backing down from her statement.

Minerva wiped a tear from her eye due to her laughter, "Aw, but don't worry," she turned to the Martian, putting her hands on his chest, " _I_ for one think you're something."

"Not a long streak of nothing?" he pouted.

"Well you _are_ a long streak..." she looked him over, both laughing when Minerva got on her toes to kiss him again. Next to him, she was exceptionally short. Though Minerva claimed he was just so freakishly tall and she was average height.

"Grow a few more inches," Donna joked.

"Right?" Minerva pulled back, leaning her head on the Doctor's arm, "Too bad I can't magically change like he can."

"How do you mean?" Donna tilted her head.

"Well he regenerates," Minerva shrugged, "See, he..." she paused and smiled, glancing up at the Doctor who nodded, both thinking of the same thing, "C'mon then, I'll explain it in the TARDIS."

Donna blinked, had she understood? "I can...I can come?"

"Let's see, you think my boyfriend is a long streak of nothing, you're bloody brilliant and I like you, oh yeah you're coming!"

Donna gasped and ran to give them a big hug, "Oh thank you!" but she remembered something important and pulled away, "Car keys! I've still got my mum's car keys! I won't be a minute!" she ran away to go make a call.

"Well, c'mon, we've gotta get these inside," Minerva grabbed the hatbox.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked suddenly, making her stop.

She looked at him and lowered the box, "Why do you ask?"

"Martha... _Rose_..." he mumbled.

She understood now and so set the box on the ground, "I miss Martha, I do...but, she's happy and so as her best friend I'm happy. Donna is amazing and I think after everything she went through, she deserves to see some stars. And about Rose..." she strode up to him, "...Donna's nothing like her."

Donna was warm, joyful, friendly and loving. True, Rose had been the same for some time but it had changed for the worst and she doubted Rose would ever be a friend for her again.

"I just don't want you to get those silly ideas again," the Doctor took her hand, "Because I know how your mind works. I know how you feel..."

"Look, my feelings about Rose might be screwed up but I can't help it. But I know that Donna doesn't see you like that, she's just a friend."

"I swear to you, you are first. _You_ dominate my hearts. There is no more doubt. I chose you, I always did and I never realized it. And if Rose ever came back, when _Kaeya_ comes back, the only one I would want in my arms is _you_ ," he kissed her hand and then her lips.

Minerva wore a small smile afterwards, her heart skipping a beat at his words, at his assurance, "Really?".

"Yes, really," he cupped her face, "And I will make you see that, okay? You've lived a long life with rejection, no stability and uneasiness. That stops with me. And you know what? Perhaps Donna _will_ be good for us. She'll show you that just because there's another woman, besides Martha, no one else can turn my head nor sneak into my hearts. You'll see it's just you."

Minerva nodded, truly wanting to feel secure of herself for the first time, "Show me then, Martian."

He leaned down, kissing her and showing the truth in each of his words.

~0~

Donna was walking through the crowded street next to the alleyway where her car and TARDIS were. She was talking to her mother over the phone, "I know, Mum, I saw it, little fat people. Listen, I've got to go. I'm going to stay with Veena for a bit. Yeah. I know. Spaceship. But, I've still got the car keys. Look. There is a bin on Brook Street, about thirty feet from the corner, I'm going to leave them in there," she threw the car keys into the bin beside her.

"What? A bin?"

"Yes, that's it, a bin."

"You can't do that."

"Oh, stop complaining, the car's just down the road a bit. Got to go, really got to go. Bye."

"But Donna, you can't..."

Though Donna hung up, just wanting to get back to the TARDIS and start her adventures! She looked around, spotting a blonde woman who stood by a fence. She ran over to her, "Listen, there is this woman that's going to come along, a tall blonde woman called Sylvia, tell her that bin there. Right, it'll all make sense. That bin there," Donna laughed and headed back to the TARDIS.

The blonde woman remained silent and watched Donna go. She took a look around and walked away from the fence.

It was Rose Tyler.

Worn, depressed, guilty, she walked in silence...vanishing into thin air.

~0~

"Off we go, then!" Donna popped back into the TARDIS.

The Doctor leaned back on the console, arms crossed, "Here it is, the TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside..."

"Oh she knows that," Minerva walked around the console, "Honestly, I think the whole world knows that."

"Frankly, you could turn the A.C. _on_ ," Donna looked around, her stomach churning at the familiar room. She just couldn't believe she was finally there, she had finally found them again...

"Sorry, that's my fault," Minerva made a face.

"Why?" Donna asked absently.

"Know what heat flashes are?" she asked and Donna nodded, "I've been having these cold flashes for months now. My Martian has graciously turned the heater on for me."

"Have you seen a doctor about that?"

"Mhm, my own personal Doctor," Minerva rested her head on her Martian's arm, unaware of the guilty face the man wore, "But it's nothing, just a temporal side effect of a crystal, nothing big."

But by the face the Doctor had Donna would have to disagree. She wondered why he was lying, cause it was pretty obvious that's what he'd been doing...she'd have to look into that.

"Just temporal," the Doctor kissed Minerva's had, wrapping an arm around her waist while he looked to the side.

He severely disliked the way he was lying to her about her health but he didn't want to scare his clever girl. She had enough problems with her family to add on the newest problem of a Monsoon princess and her crystal.

"One good thing out of this cold issue is that it gives my Martian the excuse to cuddle," Minerva smirked and looked up at him, seeing a small smile from him instead of his guilt.

"You do it to cuddle?" Donna raised an eyebrow, really unable to believe that was the reason why the man had looked so guilty, "That's so cliché!"

"He just wants an excuse to be in my room at nights," Minerva add, tilting her head up at him, "Or whatever the time is when I go to sleep. You think you're so sneaky! Bet if I go lock my room with a deadlock you'll be crying to let be in."

She slipped from his arm ran for her room. The Doctor shook his head and chased after her, grabbing her by the waist before she made it into the corridors, "Gotcha!"

Minerva squealed as they spun around, "Put me down! Put me down!" she ordered in the midst of their laughter.

Donna watched the pair, smiling softly. She could just see how happy they were now. They were nothing like the last time they'd seen each other. Minerva's eyes had changed, her entire attitude. The Doctor didn't look like the cold murderer she'd seen the last time. They were different, and she guessed that Martha woman had a big role in that, along with their new found relationship. She would never stand in the way of that.

"C'mon, Martian, put me down, we've gotta take Donna somewhere fantastic!" Minerva continued to struggle for her freedom, the Doctor refusing to set her on the floor.

"So? She could drive the TARDIS while we continue over here," he shrugged.

Minerva smirked, "Think real hard of what you just said."

Tick, tock, tick, tock...

The Doctor immediately let go of her and ran back to the console, "No driving, Donna Noble," Donna simply raised her hands in surrender, "So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"

Donna only thought for a minute when she knew of the exact place she needed to go to, "Oh, I know exactly the place. Two and a half miles, that way," she nodded to the left.

The Doctor and Minerva glanced at each other, confused on what could be only twenty miles away from them...

~0~

Wilf was sat in the hill again, looking up at the sky...when he saw a blue box, "There! Donna! It's... it's the flying blue box!" he shouted, quickly looked into the telescope and saw _Donna_ waving at him from the box, "Huh - what?! That's Donna! Yeah, that's Donna."

Donna stood at the doorway of the TARDIS, waving excitedly at her granddad, Minerva and the Doctor behind, also waving.

"And that's him! That's him! Hey! That's him! Ha-ha-ha! Go on girl! Go on, get up there! Hey!" Wilf did a little merry dance as he watched the TARDIS fly away, his granddaughter finally _happy_.

~0~

"Doctor? Doctor? Where are you?" Donna's voice rang around the console room, startling the Martian who had been busy "fixing" something on the console.

Her loud voice would surely take some getting use to for sure.

"What is it Donna?" he stood up and fixed himself, turning just as the ginger walked in through the corridors, "Did she hide your room? Because that's completely normal," Donna shook her head, looking a bit serious and concerned, "What's wrong?"

"I was trying to find Minerva, you know, to kinda get to know each other and all, but..." she trailed off.

"But what?"

"...I heard her crying," she whispered, "At least I _think_ I heard her crying..."

"Crying? There's crying?"

Donna nodded and was going to reply but by the time she opened her mouth, the Doctor was already out of the console room, running for Minerva's room. Donna shook her head, something told her this new life of time traveling was going to have a lot of bumps in the road. She only wished she would be able to help Minerva and the Doctor when the time came.

~0~

"Minerva? Open up!" the Doctor soniced her door, bursting inside to see the brunette on the floor, leaning on her side to her against her bed..quietly weeping, "Hey, what's wrong?" he knelt down beside her.

"I did something stupid..." she sniffled, her gaze locked on the floor, her hands put together...holding Martha's cellphone.

"Like what?"

"I called my mother."

"Oh no," the Doctor sighed, immediately seeing the conversation between Minerva and Sophia and all its bearings.

"I thought maybe she'd be a little proud that I graduated," Minerva explained, looking down at the cellphone in her hands, "...but she just yelled and said I could've graduated early like Marisol did," and she burst into tears again.

The Doctor took her into his arms and sat down on the foot of the bed, "Minerva, I'm all for family reunions, but don't you think Sophia has no right for one?"

"But she's my mom," she rested her head on his chest, "I just want her to forgive me. But Marisol has taken my place...she graduated early and-"

"It's okay, it's okay," he rubbed soothing circles on her back, "Look, it's been a good and fantastic day, don't you let someone ruin it for you. Especially people who aren't worth it."

"But she's my mom, she's supposed to care of all these little things," she wiped her face dry of tears, "But she cares more about Marisol."

"You know what, give me that," he took Martha's cellphone from her and started dialing.

"Who are you calling?" she lifted her head.

"Someone who will definitely cheer you up," he grinned. Minerva stared in confusion, hearing another voice on the other line, "Oh, hello! Yeah, listen, Minerva's having a bit of a bad moment thanks to Sophia...but I bet you can help her with that."

He handed the phone to Minerva, "But who is it?" she whispered.

"Take the call and see," he shrugged.

She placed the phone on her ear, looking at the Doctor while she answered, "Hello?"

"Minerva? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Isadora, her grandmother, questioned.

"Grandma..." Minerva started to smile, and even if it was a small one, it still relieved the Doctor that she was starting to get out of this moment Sophia had cursed her to be in.

"What did Sophia do now?" Isadora demanded.

"Grandma, it's...it doesn't matter, now. But listen, I have some news...I did it grandma, I finally graduated."

"Really?" Isadora gasped, "That is fantastic! Congratulations!"

Minerva smiled, hearing a praise from one of her family members making her cry of joy this time, "Yeah?"

"Of course!" Isadora chuckled, "And when you stop by I'm gonna bake you some brownies!"

"Thank you," Minerva sniffled, "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Mhm, congratulations and I'll see you later."

Minerva hung up and looked at the Doctor who had been staring in silence at her face, "You are wonderful!" she threw her arms around his neck.

"I take it you're feeling better, now?" he rested his chin on her head.

"Much, thank you so much. I guess mom just doesn't care about me anymore...well, she never did but, now I know."

"Don't think about that, okay? Sophia doesn't deserve the love you offer to her. Don't waste it on her."

He knew that was her mother he was talking about, but after everything...how could he _not_ say that? He had seen and heard many of the conversations Sophia and Minerva had in the last couple of months. The woman truly had no ounce of motherhood in her. He was actually surprised that Minerva hadn't turned bitter after living fourteen years with that woman.

"I can't help it," Minerva sighed, "I'm her child. I love her."

He rubbed some tears off her cheek then kissed her, "And that shows your big heart. You shouldn't love someone like that."

"I'm tired...and kind of cold," she whispered, wanting to stop the tears that were building up in her eyes and the only way to do that was to stop talking about her mother and Marisol and get to bed. Plus, whenever she felt cold it was just best to sleep it off.

"Alright, I'll be in later with your milkshake," he smiled, softly kissing her.

"No," she held onto his lapels when he tried to move her off his lap, "Stay with me."

"Stay?" he raised an eyebrow.

She nodded, "Stay with me tonight."

"Minerva, think real hard of what you're saying," he warned, both smiling at the words.

"I am," she focused on his lapels as she started blushing, "I don't want to sleep alone tonight. Please stay with me? I'm cold and I need someone to cuddle with."

"Well if I couldn't deny you _before_ we were together, how can I deny you something _now_?" he recalled his determination before Martha and Jack had gone and now that he looked back on it he really had no idea how hard it was going to be to say 'no' to something his clever girl wanted...except when it harmed her of course like those weight-loss capsules.

Minerva flashed a cheeky smile, "You can't," she said innocently.

He sighed, pretending to be forced to agree, "Well, I suppose I'll _have_ to stay now..."

"Oh admit it, you've been wanting to stay with me for several weeks now..." she trailed a finger down his chest, smirking at the way he stiffened, "...don't think I haven't noticed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he looked away, his hearts picking up on their speed.

Minerva giggled, pecking his lips, "Time for sleep, Martian," she pushed his coat off his shoulders.

"You definitely know how to make me nervous," he mumbled.

She became serious for one, "You definitely know how to make me feel better, thank you," she pecked his lips again.

"You know I'll always strive to do that."

She nodded and stood up from his lap, going up to her bed, "I know you do, and you always succeed," she pulled the covers down, "That's why I need you in here tonight. I'm cold and I don't feel like crying over my mother," she pulled her jacket off her and threw it to a chair nearby.

"Not on my watch you won't," he came up to her. She smiled and sat on her bed, patting the spot beside her, "You don't want to change, first?"

She shook her head, "Nah, I just want to feel your arms around me tonight."

He nodded and, nervously, went around the bed to lay on her left, wrapping his arms around her. Minerva turned to face him, scooting closer and resting her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"Minerva?"

"Mm?"

" _I'm_ proud of you."

She smiled, keeping her eyes closed, "And that means more than my mother's words."

With a kiss to her head, the Doctor closed his eyes, both of them falling asleep in each other's arms for the first time.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! Hope everyone's had a nice week. Mine was...interesting. Also, hope this chapter was to your liking :)

And also...yay we finally got Donna! ^.^

Just a note, the next chapter will be original. I just thought I might add that so there's no surprises the next time I update lol.

So I have an important _question _ to ask all those interested...I sort of had the idea to make like a collection of one-shots for the Doctor & Minerva. It would be open to suggestions or ideas from anyone who's been reading the story; I'd go in and choose which ones I think I could write. Also, it would include some chapters of my own ideas. The ideas suggested could be AU or something related to the story's actual events, though those collections would be completely separate from this story. So...is anyone interested?

Please let me know!

Oh yes, Donna's time is going be very fun...and interesting... ;)

Aw, really? Well thank you so much! Yeah, that first chapter was short but in fairness it was a prologue so those usually tend to vary in length.

Who doesn't love Donna, right? ^.^

Sorry if it's entirely fair but it's actually so much fun lol (don't know if that makes me mean or anything, hopefully not). I always hated Astrid's death because it was so...useless? Don't know, I felt like there could've been other ways to go about that ending but since Donna was going to come in I guess the writers had to prevent Astrid from actually traveling...*sigh. Yeah the Doctor's not very focused at times when it comes to Kaeya is he? Especially now that he's got the clever girl with him...oh well, that'll hopefully progress right? ;) Yes, the eating thing was just a petty side-effect from the crystal...but apparently it's not the only one huh? As said above... :o

No, no, don't cry :o Tissue? Yeah, I figured this season we could take a glimpse into what the Doctor's been thinking, good idea I think.

Thank you! Glad you like the story so far with all the sass and whatnot lol. The Doctor's Daughter may be a bit of an emotional chapter, just a heads up, and it's not just about Jenny too ;) You know, I actually haven't written any 11/Minerva chapters b/c I'm still debating whether or not to keep going after 10 regenerates. I _do_ have some ideas for Amy & Minerva as well as plot-lines...but I don't know if anyone's interested in a third story .-.

Thanks for your comments and until next time :)


	3. Upon the Orient Express

"Alright, so how do I look?" Minerva stepped out of the TARDIS corridors, "Donna's a bit fumbled deciding her own, but nonetheless excited cause it's her first trip and a historical one!" she chuckled, waiting a minute for some type of answer from the Doctor but it never came, "...Doctor?"

The man had stopped listening the moment she had entered the console room, any other thoughts that didn't have to do with her appearance unable to enter his mind. Oh, but there was _one_ word that had managed to slip through his lips, "...goddess..."

At that, Minerva immediately smiled, sauntering over to him, innocently playing with the sides of her dresses, "I take it I look okay?"

"Okay?" he scoffed and shook his head, "N-n-n-no, you look _stunning_. I tell you, the name 'Minerva' definitely fits you in the wisdom and beauty aspects."

She blushed, "Come now, Martian, let's not overreact. It's a simple dress."

Minerva was sporting an early 1900's Edwardian beaded net, lavender, tunic dress that went down to her ankles. It had a beaded design front and back with swagged fringe details. It had a slight sweetheart neckline with three-quarter trumpet sleeves. She had her silver necklace around her neck as usual with two twists of her hair connecting in the back.

"Gorgeous," the Doctor whispered, although neither knew if it had been meant just for him or he was still complementing her.

The world would never know.

"So you gonna tell me where we're going?" Minerva leaned against the console, practically buzzing with excitement.

As soon as the pair had awoken in Minerva's room and the Doctor declared he was going to take her to her surprise location for her graduation, she had started hammering him with questions and questions. The Doctor, for the first time ever as Minerva claimed, had kept his lips completely zipped. Not one word about the trip came out of his mouth. And Minerva had tried, _oh_ she had tried...poor Doctor ended up quite hazed and dazed and confused and quite euphoric. But none of Minerva's charms got him to speak.

"Nope," the Doctor smiled to himself as he started setting up coordinations on the console.

"Oh, please? One itty bitty clue?" she held up her index finger and thumb, gesturing to the small clue that would suffice.

"You're quite cute," he pointed, keeping his gaze away from her because, really, she looked fabulous in that dress and if she started up her charms his mouth might get away from him and end up spilling, "But the answer is still no."

Minerva huffed and turned away from him, hoping her fake irritation and anger would be pronounced cute and get him to walk over where she could take care of the rest...

The Doctor looked up from the console, "Minerva?" she remained silent, "Minerva?" he tried again but she just moved to hide behind the rotor, "Oh c'mon, clever girl, are you really upset because I'm not saying?"

You might as well hear the crickets coming...

The Doctor sighed, cursing himself for being so paranoid of her anger. But he _had_ to go and check if she was really angry with him, "Minerva, I'm really sorry, but I just want to keep this a complete surprise for you," he walked over to her, "Don't be angry with me...please?"

She had her arms still crossed, her look to the side, "Nope."

"Minerva."

"Martian."

"Don't do this," he shook his head, amused more than anything.

"I'm not doing anything," she shrugged.

"Yeah?"

"You _want_ me to do something?" she leaned away from the console, ending right in front of him, nearly pressed chest to chest, "Because I _will_ do something," she started to smirk.

The Doctor's amusement faded as he realized the clever girl had tricked him, "Oh you cheater..." was all he had to say as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her level and kissed him.

"You want to tell me where we're going?" she asked in between kisses.

"Mm...no...?"

He could feel her frown followed by the sudden intensification of their kiss...and he knew it was only a small amount of time till he cracked.

"How about now?" she asked again.

"M-maybe..."

Her hands moved up to his hair and tugged on certain parts, until...

"1900's," he breathed as he pulled back, "And that's all I'm saying."

"I'll take it," she said calmly, reaching up to fix his hair for him, "And may I say, you're getting a _little_ better at resisting my kisses."

"You are a blatant cheater," he sighed.

"Oh please, you know damn well you've gotten many things like that out of me as well," she fixed his tie next, "So let's not pretend we're both innocent white doves here."

"Yes, I still have your lovely little mark..." he rubbed the side of his neck, making her blush deeply.

 _That_ was actually on accident. Minerva wanted to visit near Da Vinci's time, completely unaware of the coincidence, and the Doctor declared a big fat 'no' because the man could be around and he would not have his clever girl around a man who practically drooled over her. _So_...Minerva started with her kisses, somehow moving over to the Doctor's neck...where she _bit_ him...

But in her defense, he could've stopped her...

...and he didn't.

"Would you like a kiss better?" she mocked-pouted.

"Yes," he tapped his lips, "You're paying for damages."

"Then I shall try and mend the damage," she chuckled as she got on her toes and kissed him again.

"Oh, PDA, guys," Donna walked in, putting a hand in front of her eyes, "I signed up for trips in the universe not to watch some human and alien snog."

"I can get you your own alien if you want, Donna," Minerva turned to her.

"Can it not be a streak of nothing?" she raised an eyebrow, both women trailing the Doctor up and down.

"Mm, done. I know this one guy, he's from Planet Sto, _amazing_ body..." Minerva trailed off as she and Donna started to imagine the man.

"Wow..." they both whispered.

"Oi?" the Doctor frowned at Minerva, snapping her out of her thoughts, "What am _I_ then?"

"A long streak of nothing," Minerva reminded absently, Donna snickering in the background.

"Funny cause that's not what my neck has to say," he smirked as Minerva blushed, Donna amusingly watching the girl turn into a red tomato.

"Shut up," Minerva elbowed him in the ribs.

"Well I can tell my life's gonna be more interesting," Donna smirked.

"Oh you shut up too," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Sorry dear, looks like I get to win sometimes too," the Doctor pressed a kiss to her cheek and took her hand, bringing her around the console he finished up his settings.

~0~

"Welcome to...the Orient Express," the Doctor lifted his hands from Minerva's eyes, allowing her to see an old, vintage train with dozens of other people inside.

"Oh...my...god," she breathed, Donna's eyes looking like they'd pop out at the sight.

"This is the Orient Express?" the ginger questioned, her eyes scanning one section to another.

"Well, not exactly the _original_. It's a recreation with a little twist to it," the Doctor shrugged, leading them over to a window where both looked out, "This is the Orient Express...over an alien planet. It's like a cruise ship, and no this one will _not_ crash," he pointed a finger at Minerva who merely shook her head in amusement.

Donna moved up to a window and looked out to the millions of starts on the other side. She could see a great city below but her gaze was stuck more on space. She, Donna Noble, in _space_! Now that's what she was talking about! It was amazing, it was truly amazing to finally see the universe as she wanted over a year ago.

"This is a big twist," Minerva breathed as she took a look beside Donna, her eyes widening as well.

"I say, spaceman, this is amazing!" Donna beamed.

Minerva turned to the Doctor, smiling softly, "Truly amazing."

The Doctor took her hands into his, "Congratulations, dear," he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

"What exactly are we celebrating?" Donna asked, not even realizing she'd ruin their small moment as she was still gazing about at the window.

"My graduation," Minerva explained, "I finally graduated from high school."

Donna turned to them, glancing from one another, "How old are you?" she frowned, thinking Minerva had seemed a bit older for her graduation time.

"Eighteen," Minerva replied, smiling as she leaned back onto the Doctor's chest, the man winding his arms around her waist, "Why?"

"Wait, you're eighteen...and you're...?" Donna's eyes switched to the Doctor's, unintentionally making the pair shift with discomfort.

Their ages were not something they liked to discuss. Their ages usually led to the topic of _aging_ and aging usually led to their uncertain future together.

"903," the Doctor mumbled.

"Wow," Donna was genuinely stunned at the age gap, "Quite the difference isn't it?"

"Yes, yes it is, anyways! How's about we take some lunch?" the Doctor quickly pulled Minerva away.

He didn't like to think of that topic because it reminded him that Minerva would one day age and...nope, moving on.

~ 0 ~

Donna took a seat at an empty table, the Doctor pulling out the chair across Donna for Minerva. Minerva graciously sat down and watched with a loving smile as he took a seat beside him. Donna decided to play a little game, a silent game with herself: how long would it take for those two to quit their staring competition with their lovey-dovey eyes?

Well, it had been fifteen minutes.

So then Donna cleared her throat and grabbed a waiter walking past their table, "Hi, hello, um, can we get lunch?" she didn't know exactly how to ask properly but she felt like if she didn't ask she'd starve.

"Right away, ma'am," the waiter nodded and continued on his way.

She returned her gaze to the pair that were _still_ staring at each other, "Oi, you two gonna stop anytime soon?"

"Huh?" Minerva glanced at Donna, the Doctor slowly doing the same, "Oh, sorry Donna. Please don't get angry," Minerva was determined to keep her streak of not ignoring companions despite her relationship with the Doctor to the fullest.

But Donna scoffed and waved them off, "Why would I be mad? It's actually funny seeing you two like that, sure shows the gigantic change from the last time I saw you..." she smiled softly, "...say, what _did_ happen between my wedding day and now? What made it change?"

"Well, Donna, if you must know, I stopped being an idiot," the Doctor took Minerva's hand, lifting it to his lips for a gentle kiss, "Minerva forgave me, and, well...here we are today."

"I had nothing to forgive," Minerva whispered, very sincere. Despite everything, her pain, she understood the Doctor didn't _purposely_ hurt her.

"Very descriptive guys," Donna called again, seeing them being pulled into another moment.

"It's a long story, Donna," Minerva turned to her, her hand still in the Doctor's, both resting on the table, "We wouldn't want to bore you."

"Let's see," the ginger propped her elbows on the table, looking to the side as she pretended to think about it, "A human girl and an alien a gazillion years older than her somehow went from hating each other to _snogging_ each other in a year? Hm, no I don't think it's that boring."

"I am _not_ a gazillion years older than her," the Doctor pointed, nearly poking Donna's eye out.

"No, only _885_ years older," Donna waved him off, not even concerned for the man's irritation growing because of her.

Minerva chuckled, loving Donna's attitude. At a first glance, she and Martha were _very_ different. This ginger had attitude...and a _lot_. Already she was making herself quite at home while Martha had been full of questions from the moment she stepped inside the TARDIS and was unable to feel like she was actually a passenger until a few trips later.

"Tell me what you did after you left me on my wedding day,," Donna said, really interested in what the two had done all that year that she had promised herself to find them...

"Well, we started traveling with each other for a couple of months," Minerva began, "Then we met my best friend, Martha Jones. She is brilliant!"

"She helped us," the Doctor smiled, eternally thankful to Martha for pushing them together until they snapped and confessed their feelings for each other.

"Martha is a medical student, she's training to be a doctor," Minerva said, feeling the Doctor gripping her hand and making her look over, "And boy did she help us."

"So where is this Martha?" Donna asked, suddenly wincing as she remembered Rose and the fact that she had been lost. Had they lost Martha too?

"She's currently on Earth, perfectly safe and finishing up her studies," the Doctor said, seeing Donna's wince, "We didn't lose her like Rose."

"We still talk and all, though we haven't had the opportunity to visit her," Minerva nodded, "Last time I heard, she'd gotten a call from UNIT," she glanced at the Doctor, "I forgot to tell you that. Don't you still have a job there?"

"Yes..."

"The spaceman with an actual _job_?" Donna gaped, laughing to herself a mere second afterwards.

"It's possible," Minerva nodded, "He's not just good at snogging."

"Minerva," the Doctor mumbled, looking away as he blushed.

"It's true," she reached for his head and turned him to her again, "You're brilliant," she whispered and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"As are you," he tapped her nose afterwards.

"So...Martha's safe, she's on earth, you two are together," Donna recounted, finding it a tad... _normal_ , even for time travelers.

"What about you Donna?" Minerva asked her, actually surprising the ginger by her interest and what _she_ did the past year.

She was just human, nothing exciting happened to her.

"Well...I traveled to Egypt for about a week," Donna sighed, "But then reality snapped back and I remembered I'm just human and boring."

"Oi, don't diss our species, Donna," Minerva wagged a playful finger at her, "We're awesome and very cool."

"Well, yeah, _you_. You're young, you're a time traveler, you've helped save the world-"

"And all can be done by you too, Donna. I agree, not all humans can handle the travels or can remain good after so much knowledge and power. But _you_ , Donna Noble, you are most certainly a good and non-vengeful human. I think you're amazing."

Donna blinked, glancing at the Doctor for any sort of comment from him...but the man was busy smiling and staring at Minerva. Right, he'd be out for another fifteen minutes.

"Doctor, don't you agree?" Minerva asked, in the blue about his gaze stuck on hers.

Crickets.

"Doctor?" she finally turned her head, "Do you agree?"

He smiled, no idea what she was talking about but nodded nonetheless, "Yes, dear."

"See," Minerva shrugged at Donna.

Donna rolled her eyes, for a clever girl she was kind of oblivious at times, "He's been staring at you for the last five minutes. He'll agree to anything you say."

"Really?" she frowned and looked at the Doctor again.

"Try it," Donna gestured.

Minerva thought of something he couldn't and most definitely wouldn't agree with, "Doctor, can we go visit Leonardo da Vinci?"

"Yes, dear," the alien nodded, his smile growing.

"Wow," Minerva blinked, now knowing to the fullest extent how far she could distract the man.

"Doctor, can we visit Da Vinci?" Donna tried, misunderstanding the reason why Minerva had asked that specific question.

"What!? No!" the Doctor shook his head fast, Donna frowned at the answer, "Over my dead body! And I've got more bodies so..."

"What? But you just said yes to her," Donna pointed to Minerva, the Doctor immediately snapping his head to the brunette as well.

"When!?"

"Right now!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did," Minerva nodded, taking his hand, "I asked if we could visit Da Vinci again and you said yes."

"You know very well we can't go there. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate _me_ , he loves me," she reminded.

"Leonardo da Vinci loves you?" Donna gaped, Minerva chuckling as she recalled Martha's reaction the very time she told her of Da Vinci.

"He loves my girlfriend and so I will not take her there," the Doctor frowned, gripping Minerva's hand as if she would run back to the TARDIS and straight for Da Vinci.

"Right, cause you love her," Donna shrugged, almost missing the blushes on the pair's face. But she understood what that meant immediately, "Oh, you haven't told each other yet."

"We've talked about it," Minerva said quietly, playing with the Doctor's fingers, "But we agreed it was too early for notions like that. We wanted to take it slow, so we are."

"No hurries, no pressure, just as long as we're together and happy, we're good," the Doctor watched Minerva with a small, a fond smile.

"Oh, I get it, you're in _like_ with each other," Donna smirked, accepting her drink the waiter had brought.

"We're what?" Minerva asked, curious as she accepted her own drink.

"In like," the ginger shrugged, "Not yet in love but getting there...and quite fast," she mumbled that last part.

The pair glanced at each other, Donna rolling her eyes at how quick the stares and smiles reappeared on their faces.

"I like that," the Doctor said, taking Minerva's hand and lifting it to his lips, "I'm in like with you."

"I'm in like with you too," Minerva whispered, blushing as he neared her for a kiss.

Donna sipped her drink and gestured for the waiters to start setting their tables, ignoring the kissing pair in front of her.

She could see this as a regular thing happening...

~ 0 ~

"You met Cleopatra?" Donna gaped, her eyes wise as she chewed absently on some grapes.

"She's wonderful!" Minerva laughed at the ginger's reaction to their story, "First queen, or pharaoh, not to try and flirt with my boyfriend. Well, that and Queen Elizabeth," she cast a smirk to the Doctor.

"Don't give me that look, I don't even know what I did to her to make her hate me," the alien frowned.

"Queen Elizabeth doesn't like you?" Donna picked up another grape, popping it into her mouth.

"Neither of us actually," Minerva sighed, "Still a mystery to us and the world."

She and the Doctor had gone back to an earlier time for Queen Elizabeth, hoping to figure out exactly the reason of her hatred towards the Doctor. But unfortunately, they'd been greeted with spears and weapons to their faces, this time even _Minerva_ being threatened for an execution. The Doctor, not about to let her die once more on his account, stepped in and practically took down a whole crowd of guards. He didn't like violence, he didn't condone it, but if someone threatened his girlfriend, his clever girl, there would be hell to pay. He lost her once and that was once too many. So naturally, queen Elizabeth took am extra hatred for the alien, which would explain her immediate order to kill him later on in Shakespeare's time. But the mystery remained, why did Queen Elizabeth hate them both so much?

"Can I meet a queen?" Donna asked, the spark of her eyes making the pair smile at her, "Like Marie Antoinette? Or maybe Queen Mary?"

"I think that sounds great," Minerva said, glancing at the Doctor for confirmation, "But we gotta go to the graduation party of James and Adela, they invited me."

"Minerva, I like you, a _lot,_ but let me tell you something," the Doctor scooted his chair closer to hers, "James Mulvoy..."

"Mhm?"

"...might as well be Leonardo da Vinci."

Minerva groaned, "You jealous Martian! We're just friends. He likes Adela! He told me himself!"

"I find that hard to believe," the Doctor scoffed.

"Doctor, he gives Adela the same look you give me when we're together. I know he likes Adela. That kind of look doesn't just happen with anyone."

"It's true, I know the look," Donna nodded, "My friend Veena has a new boyfriend and that look is _all_ she can do."

"I really wanna go," Minerva insisted.

"You didn't have one?" Donna asked.

"Nah, I didn't even walk the stage," she waved the ginger off, her gaze returning to the Doctor, "I much rather spend a nice trip to the Orient Express with my Martian."

"Hey, you call him Martian," Donna had just realized that and started laughing.

"Thanks to _you_ ," the Doctor pointed at her, "Look what you did!"

"I have no regrets!" Donna continued laughing.

"Now, now, everyone's got nicknames," Minerva said, "And plus, you like it when I call you Martian, don't you? You said so yourself," she reminded him.

He sighed, "I do, but...it's a step down from a Time Lord."

She smiled and shook her head, "Not for me. Now, if you want to be even better than a Martian and a Time Lord, you should take me to the graduation party."

He shook his head, "Nope."

"Minerva, aren't your parents going to be a bit disappointed to know you didn't walk the stage?" Donna asked.

"...um," Minerva shifted on her seat, "...they, uh, they don't exactly care. They don't actually care about me at all," she played with her fork, her gaze now locked on the soup before her as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

The Doctor watched her get sad and quiet real fast, his own sorrow forming fairly fast, that and a bit of anger with her parents for making her suffer like this.

Donna also noticed the fast change and regretted bringing the topic up, "Minerva, I'm sorry. I don't mean to-"

As if snapping out of her thoughts, Minerva let the spoon fall and make a clanking sound when it fell on the bowl, her head lifting up, "Um, it's okay. But I think I need a little moment."

"Minerva, I'm sorry," Donna watched the girl stand to her feet, her guilt increasing by the second.

"N-n-n-no, don't worry, it's a _me_ problem," Minerva assured, taking off in a rush.

Donna turned to the Doctor, terrified she might have just ruined her chances of traveling, and much worse, hurt a nice woman like Minerva, "I didn't mean to make her-"

But the Doctor just smiled, "It's okay Donna. Minerva doesn't have the best relationship with her parents and she's a bit more sensitive about it now cause of trouble with a cousin. I'm gonna go talk to her," he stood up, "And don't worry, everything is fine," he gave one last smile and followed for his clever girl.

~ 0 ~

Minerva hadn't ran off to anywhere far. She stood in the next room of the train, a sitting area with windows for a panoramic view. She had her arms crossed and stood in front of a great window, staring out.

The Doctor walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "I'm sorry, dear," he whispered to her, pressing a kiss to her neck.

"Marisol called," Minerva whispered, making him stiffen, "She took Martha's cellphone number from my mom's."

"When did this happen?" he frowned.

After last night when she called Sophia, he hadn't separated from her until she...

"I was getting dressed," she sighed, "And you know what her purpose was?"

"What?" he sighed, already feeling her shaking by her tears.

"Just to brag. To brag and to add guilt," Minerva bit her lip, "She says it's my fault my parents don't love me. That it's my fault my mom doesn't care about me and it's my fault my father is having heart problems."

"Minerva, you're so smart, why do you listen to her? You know it's not true?"

"Doctor, my dad has heart problems and it could be _my_ fault. Can you imagine if anything happened to him because of me?"

"You don't control illnesses, clever girl. What Marisol tried to do is get you upset and she succeeded."

Minerva sighed, "It's easy to let insults pass from strangers, but when it's your _family_ doing it...it's harder. Like it or not, Marisol is my cousin, Sophia is my mom, they're supposed to love me. _I_ love them. Is it really that hard to love me? At least a little bit?"

"Hey, you have many people that care about you. And not all your family is bad, what about Isadora? Even your uncle Aaron, just as soon as we find him," he chuckled. For a human, Aaron Lozano was quite the challenge to find.

"Marisol got under my skin..." Minerva admitted, the tiniest of anger slipping through her lips, "...she's heard about you, you know," she glanced over her shoulder, her anger exchanging for concern, a genuine concern, "Says she likes you, and that if I gave her five minutes with you, you'd choose her over me in a heartbeat."

But the Doctor just scoffed, and a loud one at that, even making Minerva flinch at the loudness, "Now that was funny," he shook his head, it really wasn't. How could he ever trade in Minerva for a rude, conniving, human?

"Martian, she's very beautiful. I'll be the first to admit it. She's a bit older, way more experienced in relationships, and she's nearly done with her college education."

"But she's not you," he turned her around, his arms remaining at her waist, his eyes looking straight into hers, "I've made the horrible mistake of having to choose between you and another. I'm not gonna do that again. I know what I want, and her name is Minerva. She's over anyone in the world, no one compares to her."

She smiled softly, watching him lean down and kissed her, "You're my Martian?" she whispered as they pulled apart.

"I'm your Martian," he nodded, an amusing smile on his face, "No one else's. So you can tell Marisol she can keep looking."

She beamed, absolutely happy, and hugged him, "You always manage to make me feel better. You always get a smile from me."

"It's my job, your eyes aren't meant for sadness. I'm here to make sure they don't have any."

"Thank you," she pulled away, glancing around for Donna, "What about Donna? Oh, I hope she doesn't feel bad, it really wasn't her fault."

"I didn't tell her anything deep, just the basic: you and your family don't have a good relationship," the Doctor replied, "You don't have to tell her anything you don't want to."

"I still want to talk to her, though. Perhaps after lunch I can."

"Sounds good, I'll even give you some alone time with her if you'd like. I've gotta go check on our rooms."

"You mean show them the psychic paper?"

"Oh yes!"

She laughed, "It's a plan, then!"

~ 0 ~

Minerva and Donna Noble walked through the train's compartments, their lunch having gone lovely as it should be. The Doctor, as he said earlier, had gone about to see their rooms for later. They knew they could just take the TARDIS and skip to the next day, but where would be the fun in that? The whole point of the Orient Express gift was to actually be _in_ the Orient Express. So, the box was tucked away in a nice storage room where no harm would come to it.

"Minerva, I really want to say I'm sorry for earlier," Donna sighed, really hoping Minerva wasn't secretly mad at her. She and the Doctor had returned to the table and continued lunch like nothing had happened, but Donna was secretly afraid Minerva was still upset with her, "I have a big mouth and-"

"It's alright, Donna, it's not your fault. Who could guess someone has family issues?"

"I should, considering I have some as well," she mumbled. She hadn't meant it as as way of telling her own life story, she had just meant to say considering she had family issues she should've known straight away Minerva had had some as well.

"You do?" Minerva looked at the ginger with surprise.

"Mum thinks I'm useless, dad died last year, no job anymore, no husband nor boyfriend," Donna shook her head, her life really was terrible back at home, "It's just my granddad, mum, and me now."

"Donna I'm so sorry," Minerva rested a hand on the ginger's shoulder, "Losing a family member is never easy."

"You lost someone too?"

"My grandfather, on my mother's side. My father's parents were already dead when I was born."

"Yeah, it was unexpected..." Donna's gaze fell to the floor as she thought of her father, it had been a disastrous time truly.

"But why do you say your mother thinks your useless?"

"Everyone's got a life but me. She compares to my cousins, all happily married, all with children, and blah. I'm the disappointment."

And at that moment, Minerva saw something she'd never seen in a companion, the ones she's seen anyways...

"Donna, I know _exactly_ what that feels like," Minerva whispered, Donna's eyes immediately snapping to her, "Your mom thinks you should be more important, you should work harder, be successful because she thinks you're not. And let's not forget your mom thinks you're no good, you're not the person she intended you to become. She yells, she nags, she lectures etc. Ultimately, you should just be...less of a disappointment."

"How..how do you know all that?" Donna was surprised by the brunette's words, how could she possibly know all that?

"You know my family issues? That's it, that's like 90% of my problems."

"R-Really?"

"Yes, the other ten percent is because of something that happened when I was younger. Something that I'm currently learning it wasn't _my_ fault," Minerva sighed.

Minerva was actually trying, _really_ trying to believe her sister's death was not her fault. She was tired of being blamed, being put down constantly by her mother and even herself. Back when she traveled with Martha and the Doctor, as just friends, she was trying to heal but she had one blow after another, plus her own affection for the Doctor getting in the way...she just couldn't really focus on that matte. But now her life was finally turning around. She had her grandmother back in her life, the way it should've stayed and _would_ stay from now on. She finally graduated and would no longer be held back by petty school assignments. And best of all, she had the Doctor with her. Things were finally setting down. Now, she really wanted to feel better, _be_ better. She wanted to convince herself she wasn't to blame. It would be a long process, but she was sure she could do it.

"So you see Donna, seems like we both share troubles. Our moms are bit difficult," Minerva swung her arms around Donna's shoulders.

Donna scoffed, nearly laughing, "A _bit_? My mom's been on my case all my life!"

"Donna, I _emancipated_ myself because of my problems with my parents."

Donna's eyes widened, Minerva also falling silent at her slip. Had she really just told Donna something that took her a full year to tell the Doctor? Donna had only been ob-board the TARDIS for one night and she had already told her about her emancipation?

"Sorry Donna," Minerva chuckled to herself, embarrassed, "Didn't mean to dump that on you."

"You emancipated yourself?" Donna asked, not sure what to say nor react to that.

Minerva, still highly embarrassed, bit on her thumb's nail, "Yeeeeah..."

"Okay you win," Donna raised her hands in surrender. No matter how bad things were with her mother, she could never imagine actually emancipating herself.

Minerva stared at the ginger for a minute before bursting into laughter, "Oh, Donna Noble, I really like you!"

~ 0 ~

Minerva and Donna were currently trying to play a game of golf...well... _Minerva_ was attempting to play. Donna had gotten frustrated that the ball would go past or around the hole and never _in_ the actual hole. In the end, the ginger had given up and moved over to the doorway of the room and only watched the brunette play.

"Alright, that doesn't look so hard..." Minerva eyed the little golf hole ahead of her with narrow eyes.

The overseer of the game, a man named Chris, had walked over to Donna, holding a golf club for her, "Miss Noble would you like to reenter the game?"

Donna politely smiled and shook her head, "No thanks. I think I may use that to make a hole in the wall cause of all the shots I missed."

Chris chuckled, "I can teach you if you'd like. It is my job after all."

"C'mon Donna, I need competition!" Minerva exclaimed as she tried to hit the ball, "Dammit!" she frowned as the ball stopped mere inches before the hole.

Donna laughed, "No thank you. You're the competitor type and I don't want to mess with that."

"Donna, as clearly seen, I'm not that...dammit!" Minerva watched as the next ball went _past_ the hole by only a few inches.

"Watch your language," Donna called.

"Dammit!"

"Or not..."

A very peeved Minerva set her hands on her hips with a scowl as she watched the three balls miss the hole, "Chris, I'm gonna need your help again."

"Good luck," Donna patted the poor man's shoulder.

"Miss Souza, it's all about the position," Chris walked over and gestured to Minerva the proper position. He hit the ball and it smoothly went into the hole.

"Okay, you're a warlock or something because I've tried this several times and got nothing," Minerva frowned. She tried the position Chris showed her but the ball didn't even make it halfway towards the hole.

"Before you make a hole in the wall, here," Chris tried not to laugh at the woman's frustration. He moved behind her and put her hands on the golf club, slowly showing her how she needed to move it, "Focus and then hit," he hit the ball and it went into the hole.

"I'm getting very frustrated here," she mumbled as she tried on her own, "Dammit!"

Donna shook her head and stepped out of the room when she saw the Doctor making his way towards them, "Your girlfriend has some awful vocabulary," she informed him.

"Is she frustrated? She has a lot of colorful words when she's frustrated," he smiled and shook his head.

"Dammit!" they heard the brunette's shout from inside.

"She may be just a _bit_ frustrated," Donna sarcastically showed the amount with two fingers.

"Just a bit," the Doctor nodded and moved inside the room with the ginger. He frowned upon seeing his clever girl with a man practically over her as she tried playing golf, "Uh, _no_..." he declared and moved for them.

"Stop right there!" Donna yanked him back.

The Doctor motioned for the pair ahead, "But he's-"

"Only showing her to properly play golf," Donna informed.

"Yeah but his arms are all over-"

"They're over her arms to show her to play golf."

"But-"

"He's showing her how to play golf!"

"B-"

"Doctor shut up," Donna snapped and sighed, letting go of the man, "Dear lord, it's just a game. She's trying to learn correctly, that's it."

The Doctor frowned as he stared at his clever girl with that man...

Minerva was giggling when she happened to look up and saw the pair at the doorway, "Martian, come here! I think I got it!" she exclaimed motioned for him to hurry up.

The Doctor beamed and dashed for her, leaving an amused Donna at the doorway. He could not help the small glare he gave Chris as the man backed away.

"Look, I think I got it. Want me to show you?" the brunette looked up with a smirk.

"I'd be very honored if you did," he nodded.

She motioned for him to put his arms around hers and over her hands on the golf club, "Okay, so you go like this..."

"Aha," he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"And then you hit," she hit the ball...and it made a stop right in front of the hole. She sighed in irritation, "Okay but you get the point right? It's supposed to go inside the hole."

He blinked, feeling a bit odd for some reason...

* * *

 _"What's this game called?" Kaeya asked as she watched the Doctor try and carve a small hole on the iced lake they stood in._

 _"Golf," he answered as he struggled with the carving._

 _"And the humans play this all the time?"_

 _"Mostly adults, the kids find it very boring."_

 _"And why exactly does it require a hole?" she tilted her head, biting on her lip to keep her laughter from escaping. She'd yet to mention the fact that the iced lake could not be broken by any means unless a Moontsay used their powers on it. She just thought he looked adorable trying to break it._

 _"The ball is supposed to go inside," the Doctor replied, "Ah! Okay, maybe we should try another place."_

 _"Oh come here," she moved up and took his hand to make him stand then stepped back with him, "And let me try and help," she held her hand in front of her, slowly twisting it as a circle was carved onto the ice. The ice fell down to create the necessary hole, "Is that good?" she looked over to the Doctor._

 _"Yes, perfect," he grinned. He quickly ran to an edge of the lake where he'd laid the golf clubs and picked one up._

 _"Is it hard?" she asked as he moved behind her._

 _"A bit," he casually answered as he put his arms around her with her hands under his on the golf club._

 _"So how does it go?" she mumbled, her heart beating faster at their closeness._

 _"You go like this..." he slowly moved the golf club along with her arms._

 _"Aha..." she watched with a small smile._

 _"And then you hit!" he hit the ball and made it perfectly go into the hole._

 _Kaeya gasped and laughed, "Oh that's fantastic!"_

* * *

"Martian?" Minerva smiled as she awaited for the Doctor to make a response.

Quickly, he shook his head and looked at Minerva, "Um...yeah, yeah, I got it."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, uh, why don't we play something else, yeah? Give Donna a little entertainment too."

"Okay," she nodded and pecked his lips, "Anything in mind?"

"I'll think of something," he assured and let her go.

She watched her go up to Donna and explain the change of plans. He rubbed the side of his head, what was wrong with him? Had he just...remembered a moment between him and Kaeya? Why? Why now? The moment, it was so... _similar_ , if not entirely the _same_ , between him and Minerva. Why was his mind playing tricks on him now? He hadn't thought of Kaeya like that in such a long time. He can't be thinking of her, no...he wanted Minerva. Yes he did. He knew he did. He did.

~ 0 ~

"Alright then, Minerva, you and Donna are in that room over there," the Doctor was leading the women down a hallway, stopping in front of his bedroom door and pointing to the door across, a little to their right, "It's very comfortable, two beds, one bath, large closet filled with clothes cause I know someone loves to play dress up..."

Minerva raised an eyebrow, "You know you love it too," she looked at Donna, "Cause sometimes, when we happen to go to historical times, the dresses are quite revealing in certain areas..."

"Minerva," the Doctor scolded, clearing his throat with discomfort at his secrets being brought out to another woman.

Donna smirked, watching him get redder as the seconds ticked by.

"You know, he's been hassling to get us to the 20's," Minerva continued, loving how the Martian was reacting, "And lord knows why, I mean-"

"Okay!" the Doctor clapped a hand over Minerva's mouth, the woman glaring up at him to which he ignored, "So, this is my room," he nodded to the door behind them, "Anything you need just give a knock or find an employee."

"Thank you, spaceman," Donna nodded, noticing how he was still silencing Minerva with his hand, "I'll just, uh, get a head start," she shrugged and walked to their room, knowing exactly how those two would end up in a mere second.

And she was not wrong.

The Doctor took his hand of Minerva's mouth, the clever girl huffing, "Martian, that was _not_ ok-" she was pushed against his bedroom door, his lips on her in a snap. By the time the Doctor had pulled away, poor Minerva was breathing heavily, her eyes wide as they looked around in confusion, "What...what happened?"

"That was for telling Donna of my secret," the Doctor pointed at her.

"Wait, this was a _punishment_?" Minerva was still trying to regain her breath.

The Doctor nodded.

"Oh...um, I feel very punished," she nodded, grabbing his lapels and pulling him to her, "You should punish me more often."

"You knew my secret," he pouted.

In all honesty, he was so sure Minerva didn't know the reason why he loved when she played dress up in the wardrobe of the TARDIS. She just looked so _lovely_ and had a glow of beauty that only a goddess could own and he just couldn't help it. He loved it.

"I'm clever, Martian," Minerva chuckled, resting a hand on his cheek, "Plus, it wasn't rocket science."

"Well there goes my secret," he huffed, making her laugh again.

"Here's the secret, sneaky Martian," she pulled him down, simultaneously leaning up on her toes, staying just above his lips towards where she spoke she could brush over them, "I like your reactions too," she gave him a gentle kiss, more like a teasing kiss if the Doctor had to put it in words, "Goodnight," she winked and hurried off to her room.

The Doctor remained outside his room for a few more minutes, pondering on his sneaky, outrageously beautiful and teasing girlfriend. She was sure one of a kind, no one could compare to her.

~ 0 ~

"And you did what?" Minerva was to the brink of laughter on her bed, her hands around her stomach as she struggled really hard not to laugh.

Donna, who sat on a chair across the room in front of a vanity desk, was also struggling not to laugh, "I ran away!"

"Because your mom said there was no Christmas that year?" Minerva raised an eyebrow and Donna nodded, "Oh my god, Donna!"

"What? I eventually came back..."

"Yeah, after they _found_ you!"

"But I came back, and that's the point."

"Those are some adventures, Donna," Minerva rested against her bed's headboard with a long sigh, "Being an only child didn't make your life boring, huh?"

"Not really. What about you? Were you an only child?"

"Um...no, I had an older sister..."

Donna picked up on the 'had', past tense and felt like she had probably upset Minerva again, "I'm sorry..." she leaned forwards on her seat, "Minerva, I'm really-"

"No, it's okay. It's really not a secret anymore," Minerva fiddled with her fingers, "I used to keep it a secret until I met Rose's family."

"Why...um, why'd you keep it a secret?" Donna cautiously asked. If Minerva was deciding to speak then she should be respectful and listen.

"My sister died in a car accident and for years I've kept thinking it was my fault. I still kinda do. On the day she died we'd literally had an argument that made her drive away from me."

"That doesn't sound like it was your fault," Donna said.

"That's what the Doctor and Martha used to tell me. That's what the Doctor tells me to this day," Minerva sighed, "And I'm trying, I'm really trying to believe it now. The Doctor's helped me so much that I'm actually starting to..."

"That's good, then," Donna nodded, "Very good. So what was she like, then?"

"Hm? Who?" Minerva looked at the ginger, slightly confused.

"Your sister, who else?"

"You want to know what she was like?"

Donna nodded, "Why wouldn't I? Or...do you not like to talk about her?"

"No, it's not that..." Minerva took a small pause, "...I don't usually talk about her because no one really asks. I guess the Doctor just thinks it'll make me feel worse by talking about her so he only focuses on making me believe her death wasn't my fault."

"But your grandmother? You said you had a grandmother, what about her?"

"We already know all the stories. There's no point in talking about someone who's never going to be with us again...someone who just left a big hole in our lives. When I talk about my grandfather I always get to tears and I don't like crying over him because it takes me so long to stop.

Donna smiled sadly, "There's always a point in talking about the dead. In the case of your sister, I bet you always think of the bad stuff, right? Well, talking about your memories adds light into that. It reminds you that while she's not here anymore, for a moment she was in your life and you were happy...cause, you _were_ happy, right?"

"Times," Minerva nodded, "Our relationship wasn't as close as it should've been."

"But it can't have _always_ been bad, right?"

"No, not always. There were times where..." but Minerva stopped talking and faintly smiled, "...there were times where we'd build this massive fort with our pillows and blankets and she'd read me stories, or we'd play princesses..."

"See, I bet you don't think like that when it comes to her," Donna leaned back on her chair, proud she'd managed to make Minerva realize something even the Doctor hadn't seen.

"Not really," Minerva agreed, "When I think of Olivia I always think of the blame my family puts on me for her death and the bad moments we had between us."

"Olivia? That's a pretty name," Donna complemented.

"Fit for the pretty woman she was," Minerva smiled, "I used to tell her I wanted to look like her. She had this perfect gold hair with these amazing eyes...and she was tall. That's what I envied the most, her height."

Donna chuckled, "You're not that short!"

"Have you seen the Martian?" she mimicked the Doctor's height with a raised hand.

"He doesn't count, he's alien."

"Who looks like a human thank you very much. Anyone who sees us always has to point that out," Minerva shook her head, "Yes, I know I'm short. No, I don't need a reminder. Olivia always used to tell me I'd grow up and be tall like our parents. Somehow that didn't happen."

"You're fine, Minerva. Let it go."

"Funny, that's what she used to tell me as kids," Minerva crossed her arms, "She was always like an adult. When she wasn't running from me, she could be very fun."

"Running from you? Why do you say that?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Minerva shrugged, "I always felt like Olivia was afraid of me sometimes. The way she would look at me..." her gaze slowly fell, "...it was the same look my mom used to give me. It was as if I would kill them or something."

"What? Why would they do that? What about your dad?"

"Dad was always distant. He wasn't as bad as mom. Sometimes, rare times, he'd actually spend some time with me and just when I would think he'd finally be a real dad...something would always happen that'd make him leave me. To this day, I still don't understand their behavior with me. Mom's all haywire trying to track me down and force me to come back while my dad's just shut down."

"Quite the family," Donna mumbled.

"Not like yours, though," Minerva quickly said, "I know you think you've got problems with your mom but I really think it's just miscommunication. You both need to sit down and talk. You need to let her know that you are most certainly not useless and do not need a marriage to be happy. You can be just fine on your own, you are."

Donna softly smiled, "You think so? I spent a whole year searching for you guys..."

"You set up a goal and you did it. Look at yourself, Donna. Look where you are?" Minerva gestured to their room, "You're on an intergalactic version of the Orient Express. That does not sound like a useless person to me! No! You're fantastic!"

"Ever so kind you are," Donna sheepishly looked down.

"I mean it. Just like the Doctor's helped me I'll help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Your self-confidence! I can't have you running about with no confidence in yourself. I can tell Donna that you don't think so good of yourself and I won't have that."

"Minerva, you don't have to do any-"

"Shush!" Minerva got out of her bed and closed her robe, "I'm helping you and that's that."

Donna raised her hands in surrender and just chuckled, "Okay then."

Minerva laughed and walked over to the ginger's chair where she hugged her, "It's really nice having you with us, Donna. I mean it."

"I'm not intruding on your little relationship moments?" Donna looked up as Minerva pulled away.

"Nah, as you can tell we don't really care who's around," Minerva shrugged.

"Oh, I've noticed," Donna mumbled and looked to the side.

"The Doctor and I have been on our own for several months and as nice as it is being just us two...we really do miss having someone else to talk to. Martha always kept us on check and she was just such a good friend, well, best friend to me anyways. I think it's about time the Doctor took in a best friend."

"You think I could be his best friend?" Donna raised an eyebrow, "Minerva I'm going to tell you right now I have no patience for his little gimmicks."

"But they're adorable!"

"For _you_ , the rest of us just want to strangle him."

"Well, be the best friend that'll make him less annoying," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Mm, I'll think about it. Now go on," she shooed the brunette away.

"Go on where?" Minerva frowned.

"Oh don't play dumb with me," Donna wagged a finger, "You've been avoiding sleep because this room's short one long streak of nothing."

"What?" Minerva struggled not to laugh.

"I don't mind, really," Donna shrugged and stood up, actually pushing her towards the door, "I know it's probably hard sleeping away from your precious box and farther from your Martian. Years sleeping in that thing, of course you'll have trouble!"

"Well, at least let me change!"

"Oh no, I want to see the reaction the spaceman will have when he sees you," Donna smirked and opened the door.

"I won't be long, though," Minerva warned, tugging closer her robe. She really did not care for the little nightgowns set up in this train, "I'll be right back!"

"I'll get a head start sleeping. I want to be wide awake for my first trip tomorrow," Donna beamed at the thought of actually stepping on historical ground.

Minerva chuckled as she closed the door after her. That Donna sure was something. Once she got over her chuckle, she walked quietly and rather slowly she admitted, to the Doctor's door. She was a bit nervous for some reason...

She knocked on the door twice, her heart skipping a beat or two when she heard the Doctor's voice call from the inside, "Who?"

"Minerva!" her voice shook very clearly, embarrassing herself.

"And you dare _knock_? Come in clever girl!"

She smiled to herself, actually feeling less bad after that. Her Martian was very good at that, always. She took a deep breath and turned the knob of the door, slowly opening the door and peeking inside. The Doctor was currently in front of a mirror, removing his tie.

He glanced back, smiling at her, "Nice of you to visit."

"Well I've got a problem," she closed the door and took several steps further, putting her hands behind her back, "I can't sleep."

"Really?" he turned to her completely, a bit glad she had that problem if he had to admit. Because if she had that problem, then _he_ could help, and to help that would require them to share a room again...

"Donna says it's because I'm too accustomed to sleeping in the TARDIS. Where's you're much closer to me..." she explained nervously, "But I mean, that's a bit irrelevant since we don't actually sleep together in the same room and we're probably only a few feet away..." she was rambling now, oh no, "But if you ask me, it's more because of what this train has for sleep wear," she gestured to her closed robe, "Seriously, how do women sleep with these things."

"Dear, it's just a robe, you can take it off and go to sleep," the Doctor said casually.

Minerva simply shook her head in amusement, he really _is_ oblivious. But she supposed it also meant he wasn't always thinking of what was underneath her robes.

"What?" the Doctor frowned when he noticed her smiling and shaking her head. Had he said something funny?

"I was talking about the _nightgown_ ," she patted his cheek and undid her robe, just allowing the front of it to show, though that was _enough_...

Minerva wore a white, silk nightgown that went above her knees, much shorter than usual. It was in a v-neckline with laced thin straps and of thin fabric.

The Doctor gaped, his mouth falling at the sight of her. She was... _exquisite_ , to put it in delicate terms, _if_ that was even delicate. He had never seen such a sight of her legs. Even when she'd worn dresses they were _never that_ short. And as his eyes roamed _up_ , he found himself having thoughts he really shouldn't have. But his hearts raced, he could actually feel his breath continuously hitching with no control...and for a split second he wondered what it might be to...

"A bit ridiculous isn't it?" Minerva snapped him out of his thoughts, unable to notice the blush that was creeping on his neck, "I for one think it should stretch a little," she closed her robe, the Doctor unable to see _her_ smirk as she saw his blush on his _face_. She now knew her body attracted him. And that made her tingle inside...

"R-right, ridiculous," the Doctor stuttered as he struggled to push away those thoughts of his.

"So, um, do you think you could help me?" Minerva asked, once again reminding him she was still there, "I don't know why I can't sleep. Yesterday night I slept like a baby."

"And not crazy by the way," he walked around her, needing to look at something else in order to return his hearts to normal.

"Hm, that's a first," Minerva followed, "I always sleep crazy. My grandparents used to make fun of me for that all the time. I slept with two blankets and in the morning they were on the floor with my pillow half dangling from the bed."

"Well _I_ wasn't thrown on the floor," the Doctor turned around, finding her right in front of him.

But he smiled because she didn't even realize all the effects she'd given him in less than two seconds. She was so innocent like that, and that's what he liked. She had so much power over people due to her sweet little smiles and looks and never took advantage of it. Sure, she'd use them at times to help them get out of sticky situations but only for that and only when it was truly necessary.

"Well that's cause you're good at cuddling," Minerva rested her hand on his cheek, smiling fondly at him, "I wouldn't throw you anywhere. I want you right with me, all the time."

"As do I," he passed a hand down her hair, "I never want to leave your side."

"Does that mean I can stay?"

"Stay where?"

"Here, in your room."

"You want to stay here? With me?"

"Unless you don't want me to, because it's really okay," Minerva quickly retracted from her request, "I did tell Donna I'd be back..."

Had she been too direct by asking to stay with him again? She just couldn't help from asking. Last night had been such a peaceful night despite her mother's words. She felt so warm, so protected, so..cared for. She didn't think of a better place to sleep in than her Martian's arms.

"I'd love for you to stay with me," the Doctor said, easing her nerves. He placed a kiss on her lips, accidentally pulling on her long hair when he pulled away, "Sorry, sorry," he stroked her as she winced from the pain.

"It's okay, it's just so long I usually braid it before sleeping," Minerva explained shyly, "I know I should cut it but I don't want to..." she said like a child, "...it's who I am, I just can't."

"Hey, I wouldn't want you to anyways," the Doctor said to her, seeing her concern for what he thought about her hair.

"You wouldn't?"

"No, I think your hair is lovely, beautiful, soft, and precious like you," he pressed his forehead on hers, "It's who you are," they both smiled, "It would be like asking me to get rid of my suits..."

"No!" Minerva almost shouted, making him flinch, "No," she said much quieter, resting her hands on his chest, gazing him up and down, "I like your suits and ties...very much," she blushed.

He smiled warmly, relieved to hear she liked him and all his oddities, "I like you and your hair, very much as well," he kissed her cheek and pushed a strand of her hair over her shoulder back, and kissed her jawline.

His gaze lingered a bit below, falling into temptation fairly quick and pressing a second kiss. Minerva stiffened at the action, surprised by the sudden contact. However, the Doctor pushed back the last of her hair and kissed down her neck. She closed her eyes, that tingle starting up inside her again. Her hands moved to the Doctor's arms, he backing her up towards the bed as his lips returned to hers. Neither of them knew what was happening, they just knew they were kissing and they liked it.

Minerva's hand went to finish undoing the Doctor's tie, just as they laid on the bed. Their kisses intensified, turning more passionate with each second. She felt her heart beating to the point where she feared it would burst. The same could be said for the Doctor's hearts, only double. His hands went around her back, one of them reaching for her robe's ribbons, Minerva's hands going for his jacket's buttons...

...but she felt wrong. It started registering in her mind what was happening, and she just couldn't.

"Mm, wait," she managed to push the Doctor up with her hand, "I-I can't, I'm sorry."

The Doctor blinked, his mind finally catching up with the rest of him...and he realized what he was about to do. Minerva's fear practically poured out of her eyes and he softened, feeling like he had do everything in his power to erase that fear, to make up for what he'd nearly done.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, really," Minerva whispered, still breathing heavily from their moment.

"N-n-n-no, forgive _me_ ," he moved to her side, closing her robe for her and passing a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have."

"No, it's okay, as you can clearly see this wasn't a one-way response," she bit her lip and turned to him, "It's just, I don't...I can't. I don't feel right just yet," she whispered, embarrassed, "It's not that I don't want to, I'm just not ready..."

"Shh," he placed a finger over her lips, "It's alright my clever girl, everything is fine," he cautiously brought her closer to him, wanting her as comfortable as ever, "Remember? No hurries, no pressure, just as long as we're together and happy, we're good..."

"We're good," she repeated in a whisper, _so_ relieved to hear him speaking like this.

Her Martian was just so wonderful. No man would ever compare to him, not a human, not an alien, nothing. And she was lucky enough to have him at her side.

"We're okay," the Doctor assured. He pulled her up to his pillows and reached inside his pockets, taking out a scrunchie, "I believe this will help?"

She beamed, sitting up against the headboard, beginning to braid her hair, "You're too wonderful."

"Because you're even more wonderful," he watched her do her hair with fondness.

"You're right, I _am_ wonderful. Better than some silly Martian," she playfully rolled her eyes, knowing how he'd react to a comment like that.

"I'm no silly Martian," he frowned, "I'm a Time Lord."

"No, you're the king of Gaddabee like Astrid said," she chuckled, finishing up fairly fast with her hair, a perfect long braid going over her shoulder.

"I'm a Time Lord, I'm the Oncoming Storm," his frowned deepened.

"Nuh-uh, I told you, you lost that name the day you came up with timey wimey," she wagged a finger, "Honestly, what Oncoming Storm says that? He has to be an idiot!"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Oh really?" she had a cheeky smile for him, "Well, this Oncoming Storm must be a pretty clever guy to have such a beautiful woman at his side," Minerva squealed as she was yanked down to his side.

"Ah! Let me go Martian!" she batted him as he pepper-kissed her face repeatedly.

"Never!" he laughed, grabbing both her hands, ending her laughter and his pepper-kisses with one long, passionate kiss.

Minerva was severely dazed after he pulled away, "...I'm in like with you," she whispered, her chest very noticeably heaving up and down with her loss of breath.

The Doctor smiled, letting go of her hands and leaning closer to her face, enough to where he could feel her actively breathing, "I'm in like with you too."

"You win, you're the Oncoming Storm again," she declared.

"Really!?"

"Yes, really," she bit her lip, "It's very hot, you know. My boyfriend's the Oncoming Storm, better watch out."

And now he smiled _very_ smugly, "Well..." he swayed his head.

"Don't get cocky, Martian," she warned, her blush lowering her authority tone, "I just like it, okay?"

He rested his head on his pillow, bringing Minerva to his chest, "I like it too, I like all of this," he sighed in content.

"Let's talk," she suggested, cuddling closer to him.

"Talk? I thought you came here to rid yourself of your sleep problem."

"Yeah, but, you're not sleeping tonight so I won't sleep either."

"Minerva, go to sleep."

"Martian, let's talk," she mimicked his tone, her fingers playing with his jacket.

He quite liked feeling her soft fingers on him, even if they were just playing with his clothes. He sighed, he just couldn't deny the clever girl anything, "Oh alright, but then you sleep, okay?" she nodded silently. He could tell she was already becoming loopy with the beginning of her sleepiness, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Donna," she said immediately.

"What about her?" he stiffened, had the ginger been rude to her? He would not stand for a companion who was rude to Minerva. Rose wasn't mean, neither Martha, not even Astrid, Donna would not be an exception.

"She offers me something no one has been able to do," Minerva explained.

"Like?"

She lifted her head up, a faint smile on her lips, " _Understanding_."

That actually left the Doctor slightly confused, "How do you mean?"

Minerva shifted so she was just a bit away from him, letting her face him completely, "Her mom is like my mom, they don't understand us. They nag us, they think we're not important. They think we're disappointments..."

"But you're not," he frowned, absently stroking his finger on her cheek.

"Thank you," she smiled, enjoying his touch, "But you don't understand that, no offense. You can advice me, you can comfort me, but your family was nice, apart from your arranged marriage and whatnot, but they loved you and cared for you. You can't understand what it's like having a mother like mine. Donna _does_. She's lived it, she _lives_ it. Martha was amazing, she was like my journal only she talked back. But she could never understand what it's like to know you're a big disappointment for your parents. Francine and Clive love her and support her. My mom would never do that, she's disappointed because I don't want to be a lawyer and don't want to come home. Donna's mom wants Donna to get a job, be married and whatnot. We get each other, we understand each other."

The Doctor nodded, sincerely grateful Donna had already helped Minerva in some way. She would _definitely_ stick around if she provided Minerva with the help she needed.

"I think Donna is going to be really important to us," Minerva continued, looking to the side as he thought of the ginger, "I can feel it in here," she put her hand over heart, "We're going to be like family."

"That's very good, dear," the Doctor leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss.

Minerva smiled and scooted back to him, his arms wrapping around her as she laid her head on his chest, contently listening to his dual heartbeats, "I can just feel it," she whispered.

~0~

Donna had already gone to check on Minerva and the Doctor one, only hearing their voices from the door. It seemed like they were having a conversation, and a good one because she just kept hearing Minerva's laughter, the Doctor's seconds after. So, Donna had returned to her room, thinking Minerva would be back eventually. But as it got later and later, no brunette returned. So she returned to check on them again. However, when she pressed her ear to the door, all she heard was silence.

So she knocked...

"Who?" she heard the Doctor call, somewhat quiet.

"Donna," she responded, equally quiet. It was rather late and she didn't want to wake the other passengers.

"Come in."

Donna turned the knob of the door and stepped inside, "I just wanted to check on Minerva..." but she stopped when she turned to face the pair.

The Doctor had one finger over his lips, gesturing to the sleeping brunette beside him, his other arm around her, "She is a handful to put to sleep, you know."

Donna shook her head, very amused, "What a torture it must be to let her sleep next to you."

He turned his head to Minerva, able to feel her gentle breathing on his neck, "What a _privilege_."

Donna smiled softly, fairly easy she could tell how the spaceman felt for her new friend. It was something he had been missing at her wedding, that gleam and spark of happiness. Minerva was able to return that to him and it was easy to see that he had also given her something in return as well, her own happiness.

"She's going to stay with me, tonight," the Doctor informed very quietly. He really didn't want to wake Minerva up, "Alright?"

Donna had heard alright, but she didn't say anything in relation to that, "You must really like her, huh?'

"Very much," he kept his gaze locked on Minerva, he really couldn't get enough of her, even asleep.

"The thing is, Doctor, not to intrude or anything, but...from what I gather, _you_ don't age..." Donna said, the Doctor's gaze simply saddening up at the reminder, "...how...um, how is that exactly going to work?" Donna felt like she was just jabbing at their happiness, but it was a question that _needed_ to be thought of. And she didn't know why but she felt compelled to ask, for Minerva's sake.

"Because one day I'll just have to let her go..." the Doctor replied, barely a whisper that Donna really had a struggle to catch his words.

He shifted Minerva so he could move up, the brunette simply breathing in slightly like she'd wake up. He waited for her to do something, he'd have a heck of a struggle to force her to sleep again. But, her head simply rested back on his chest, her breathing returning to normal as she continued sleeping. Even through his smile, he had to sigh.

Donna had reminded him of their future.

He wasn't mad at her, why should be? She had only spoken the truth. He stared at Minerva, the perfect, youthful angel, in his arms. What he would give to be able to make her aging freeze or slow down at the least. He knew what he wanted was nearly impossible but it didn't stop him from thinking of ways to make it happen. He didn't want to let her go, even if it did mean he was being selfish. He didn't want her to leave and make her own life, away from him, with someone else.

"And you think Minerva's going to let go of you?" Donna quietly asked, still managing to bring him out of his thoughts.

"She's going to have to, because... _I_ won't be able to do it," he shrugged with a small sigh, resigned.

Despite his promise to keep Minerva happy, he wasn't thinking of her happiness in the future. He forced himself to think of the present, almost forcing to forget the inevitable pain they'd both suffer at the end. _He_ couldn't let go but perhaps Minerva could. Maybe she could end things and walk away from him much easier. If it happened like that, then maybe he could continue alone. In the end, he just wanted her to be happy, no matter who she ended up with. But if she didn't let go...neither would he.

He was just falling in too deep.

"I'm really sorry for doing this, but...there's something wrong here," Donna slowly moved to sit on the foot of the bed, looking straight at the Doctor, "There's something with Minerva and you haven't told her," she could see how he stiffened at her words, only making her sigh, "I suppose if you haven't said anything it's for a good reason...so tell _me_. I want to help."

"Donna, there's really nothing you can-"

"Don't even start with that. I'm human, yes, but I can still do _something_. Even if it's bringing cups of tea or blankets, I don't care. But I want to know what it is. Plus, I'm sure it's been driving you crazy harboring that secret."

On that, he nodded in agreement, "It's...it's bad."

"What is it?"

He took a deep breath, "Before meeting Minerva, or any of my recent companions, I had a friend. Her name is Kaeya and she's a princess from her home planet, the Silver Monsoon. She had this crystal that her family protected with everything they had. I thought that crystal had ceased to exist after a war was finished, but it wasn't. You remember Lazarus?"

"The crazy professor who said he'd change humans or something?" she asked, vaguely remembering the catastrophic events that news reporters covered.

"That one. He had that same crystal in his possession for the night...and Minerva touched it. It was a trap that one of my greatest enemies used against her. He could rewrite her entire genetic code, and for a whole year he experimented on her," the Doctor swallowed hard, trying to push away those awful moments where his clever girl suffered because of _him_ , "For an entire year she endured the torture of that crystal, a link eve originating from the crystal between her and Kaeya, and even recreating a new necklace from bits of the crystal. I thought it was all over when Kaeya, inside Minerva's body, smashed the crystal into pieces...but it's not. It's _far_ from being over."

"What's wrong?" Donna looked at Minerva, soundly asleep.

"Last Christmas, she nearly died and there was this light that saved her from a ship's engines. She was teleported away or something like that, she really can't remember. I practiced some tests on Minerva, just to make sure everything was alright...but I found something, something that should _not_ be inside her."

"And that's...?"

"There's a piece of the destroyed crystal lodged on her heart."

Donna gasped and covered her mouth, looking at Minerva again, "Is that...is that lethal?"

"It's responsible for her cold flashes, her radical mood swings, and who knows what else it might do. The effects are infinite, at least of the little knowledge I have."

"Well how do we get it out!?"

"I don't know," the Doctor shrugged, shuddering a breath, "I honestly don't know. I'm waiting for Kaeya, the owner, to return. She became closer to Minerva and I really hope she can help her. Because...I can't."

He had run endless tests on his clever girl to see what exactly he could do to remove that stupid piece from her. But every time he got a result, it always said the same thing: too dangerous. If he tried anything, remotely anything, he could possibly kill her. He had even returned to his studies on her unknown blood but nothing came up. It simply was not human and now with the crystal on her heart it started registering as Moontsay. That couldn't be right. But he had no knowledge of the Moontsays and pretty much the only man who could help, Mayar, currently despised him and wanted nothing to do with him. His only hope was Kaeya. Kaeya had shown a different side the last time they met and he severely hoped that she would show him that kindness upon telling her of Minerva's condition.

"Well, what's going to happen in the meantime that woman shows up?" Donna bit her nail, actually feeling nervous the more she thought of the issue.

"Humans need a certain temperature to survive and that crystal is far too cold. What do you think?" he mumbled, shaking his head.

"We can't...she can't just _die_!" Donna nearly shouted then quickly covered her mouth as Minerva fussed a little.

Once the woman stopped and slept quietly again, the Doctor continued to speak, "The effects are small right now but with time they are going to get bigger and more noticeable. Right now, I'm trying to search for the owner, the princess. If I find her fast then she can help me."

"Well, in the meantime, you need anything from me, I'll be here," Donna assured sincerely, "This isn't your secret anymore, you're not on your own."

He faintly smiled, 'Thank you Donna."

"We'll figure this crazy mess out, you'll see. A story like this does not end with a death," she stood up.

"A story? A story like what?"

"You know? Um," she thought for a minute, "Oh! A star-crossed fantasy, story, yeah," she nodded with a smile, "That's what it is. A human," she gestured to the sleeping woman beside the Doctor, "And then an alien," she gestured to him, "With so many differences and yet none of it matters."

The Doctor nodded, smiling brightly as he looked down at Minerva, "Best fantasy I've ever lived."

"Mm, I bet it is. Well, goodnight spaceman," she walked for the door.

"Donna?" he called quietly, making the ginger look back, "Thank you."

She smiled and gave a slight nod, "You're welcome," and she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

He took a deep breath and sighed as he shifted once more, resting the side of his face over Minerva's head. As he thought of the crystal inside her, he clutched her tighter and shut his eyes, completely terrified of what could happen to her. That's why he tried keeping her calm the best he could, gave her adventures that wouldn't tire her out and always tried making them warm for her. He wanted to give no additional help to the crystal and keep Minerva from discovering the truth. He didn't like lying to her but he knew that if he did tell her she would be terrified and for what purpose would that be? She wouldn't be able to change a thing and she'd live every second in fear of what could happen. Apart from that, she had enough problems with her family that an alien crystal lodged on her heart was the last thing she needed to truly crack.

No, she would not know. Once Kaeya returned then he would tell Minerva everything, but only when they had devised a perfect, safe solution.

In the meantime, he wanted her to be happy as much as she could be.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! Hope everyone had a nice week :)

So now we know what's going on with poor Minerva. But shhh! It's a secret, remember? And uh-oh, was that a Kaeya memory?

Oh! Forgot to mention, if there's any new readers around, I picture Kaeya to look like the actress Michelle Trachtenberg :)

In honesty, this chapter was more of a fluff-secret revealing-relationship beginning-chapter. I sort of wanted to give like an image of where the Doctor & Minerva's relationship currently is (since it's technically been months since Christmas & whatnot). Plus, I really didn't feel like dumping a big problem for the story in one of the episode-chapters because they're already filled in with the show's problems and I felt like it would be piling on. And lastly, I wanted to introduce the relationships Donna will have with the couple and then build from there.

So...was it okay? .-.

I chose the Orient Express from the last season that aired because I freaking adored that episode for some reason and I figured if I do go into 12's era I could reference these moments in it :)

That's great to hear there's interest for 11/Minerva! I shall start with that tomorrow because I'm tired of editing . This might sound crazy but I actually have an idea I've been toying around with for Clara's arc...way far out, right? .-. still, it's been written down... :)

I'll go onto 11, don't worry, and thank you for your offer! I have a couple ideas for the 11's first season and I hope more will come as the time goes on. Well I can promise there'll be some very interesting stuff for the next chapters lol, hope they'll be to your liking!

Go Donna! Woo hoo! Hey, hey, the Doctor can learn to be...less of a klutz, right? He's starting small lol. Thank you! I'm sure Minerva would say she loves you back! ^.^

Continuation shall happen :)

Thank you, hope you liked this chapter!

Thank you, glad to hear my story is good ^.^

Yeah, I don't know why but I'm kinda curious myself to see how 11 & Minerva would work with each other. Is that normal? I don't know but at a first glance I can just kinda see Minerva being more frustrated (though a loving frustration of course) with him because of his bigger childish manners. Oh I can see Minerva & Amy getting together to keep 11 in check, maybe even poor Rory lol. Oh, River? Definitely would (and technically _is_ already from this story) be involved Mother problems will probably be for a while, but Kaeya problems will be solved (ish) for this season...(you'll see why the 'ish' was put in during the specials). Hmm...why can't Donna find much on Minerva...that's a very good question...I'm gonna pull a River and say: _Spoilers_ ;). As for Kaeya issues I won't say a word *zips lips*.

Actually, I do have one question pertaining to River/Alex Kingston. So for some reason I always thought she had _blue_ eyes until I came to a certain fanfic that described her with _green_ eyes & now I'm confused even looking at pictures for myself. Can anyone _please_ be a dear and just clarify that for me? Blue or green eyes?

Believe that was it for comments and whatnot. I probably will go into the one-shot idea but I don't know when it'd start. Oh well I'll work on that ^.^

As always, thank you very much for your reads & comments. Until next time! :)


	4. Fires of Pompeii

The Doctor pulled a curtain to the side, revealing a busy "Roman" street. He grinned and stepped out, Donna poking her head out and struggling to keep her mouth closed at the sight.

"Ancient Rome," the Doctor opened his arms, Donna blinking as she looked at the street filled with market stalls, "Well, not to them, obviously. To all intents and purposes right now... this is brand new Rome."

"Oh my God, it's... it's so Roman. This is fantastic!" Donna exclaimed, giving him a hug, " I'm here... in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome!"

"Yeah, you might want to check your coordinates, Martian," Minerva stepped out, dressed for a Roman time, "Do you ever bother to _check_ where you landed the box of wonders?"

"Wow you look good," he blinked and made his way back to her.

Minerva blushed and patted down her toga, "I figured if I'm in Rome I might as well take advantage: I'm Minerva, goddess of wisdom and warfare," she declared, her hand up as if she was holding a spear, Donna laughing.

Minerva wore a baby blue toga with a raised waist and flared sleeves and skirt. Thin, olive green ribbons wrapped around her waist. The same types of green ribbon tied her hair up into a high ponytail.

"You _need_ to stop doing this," the Doctor sighed, though not a word was meant.

"Do what?" Minerva frowned.

"Giving me hearts attack," he leaned down, resting his forehead on hers.

" _Or_ how about _you_ dress up and give _me_ a heart attack?" Minerva ran a finger along his chest, blushing deeper, "That would _really_ punish me."

"Well I-I, um..." he breathed in, quite heavily. His hearts sped up with what he dared to call Minerva's seductive look. And if it was up to him, he'd have her against a wall, snogging the hell out of her. So then he blushed a deep red for thinking of that.

Minerva giggled, taking his silence for nervousness instead of delicate thoughts, "No comments, Martian?"

Donna scoffed, "I tell you there's a _ton_ of comments in his head," she muttered, turning away and walking along the street, "This is just weird. I mean, everyone here is dead."

Minerva giggled again, linking her arm with the Doctor's and practically pulling him towards the ginger. He was still in a sort of stupor, staring at her up and down which only made her blush even more, "You might not want to tell them that, Donna," Minerva said.

Donna turned around, noticing a sign behind them,"Hold on a minute. That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"

"No, That's the TARDIS translation circuits," Minerva explained, "It just makes it look like English... speech as well. You're talking Latin right now."

"Seriously?"

"Yup!"

"I just said 'seriously' in Latin..."

"Yeah!" Minerva chuckled, she truly loved Donna's reactions.

"What if I said something in actual Latin? Like 'veni, vidi, vici'? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni, vidi, vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

Minerva paused to think, surprised that not even _she_ had wondered once about that, "I don't actually know..." she glanced at the Doctor, "What would happen?"

The Doctor blinked, slowly coming back to reality, "I'm not sure - you have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" he shot the ginger a frown, "Not even Minerva asked that and she never stops asking questions!"

"Oi!" Minerva smacked him in the chest, "If I stop asking questions, how will I learn?"

He remembered the very first time she had said that to him, all the way back to the first day they met and smiled, "You're wonderful," he declared.

"Yeah, I'm gonna try it," Donna announced as she saw them getting sucked into another lovey-dovey moment. She turned and walked towards a stallholder, a man running it.

"Hello, sweetheart. What can I get for you, my love?"

"Veni, vidi, vici," Donna said proudly, awaiting the results.

"Hunh? Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, missy."

"Yeah..." Donna nodded and returned to the pair, "What does he mean 'Celtic'?"

"Welsh. You sound Welsh," the Doctor replied, giving her a quick glance, he really just wanted to keep looking at Minerva.

"Are you even listening to me!?" Donna demanded, crossing her arms, the pair just staring at each other.

Her question was answered when the Doctor reached for Minerva's cheek and pulled her to his lips.

"Got it," Donna playfully rolled her eyes and turned off.

None of them realized that there was a red-robed woman watching them from afar...

~0~

"Won't our clothes look a bit odd?" Donna asked as the pair and her finally walked again through the streets.

"Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho... but bigger," the Doctor shrugged.

"You've been here before then?"

The red-robed woman was still following them...

"Hm, ages ago. Before you ask, that fire had nothing to do with me. Well, a little bit, but I hadn't gotten the chance to look around properly. Coliseum... Pantheon... Circus Maximus... You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything?" the Doctor stopped and looked around, "Try this way."

"You're gonna get us lost," Minerva warned yet still followed the Martian.

"I'm not an expert, but there are Seven Hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they only got one?" Donna asked once they had stopped at a larger street.

The Doctor then looked to one mountain afar...the ground had started to shake as he did.

"Here we go again!" a man from one of the stalls yelled, the other vendors trying to salvage everything in their stalls as the place shook like an earthquake.

"Doctor, when I say you should really check the coordinates...you _really_ need to check them," Minerva sighed, "We're in _Pompeii_..."

"...and it's Volcano day," the Martian gulped, bringing Minerva to his side.

What had he done?

~0~

The young woman with a red robe that had been following the trio ran into a temple where more red-robed women were. She set herself in front of a contained fire, "I beg audience with the High Priestess of the Sibylline."

"The High Priestess cannot be seen. What would you tell her, sister?" Sister Suprrina demanded.

"It has come... as foretold in the prophecy. The box... the blue box."

~0~

The Doctor practically hauled Minerva down the streets, Donna rushing to keep up with them. But when they arrived to where the box of wonders was...it was gone.

"You're kidding. Don't tell me the TARDIS is gone," Donna panted for air, leaning against a wall.

"Okay..." the Doctor said, scanning every last part of area for the TARDIS.

"Where is it then?"

"You told me not to tell you."

"Don't get clever in Latin!" the ginger snapped, hardly finding this to be the time for a disagreement.

"You two need to focus on the big picture," Minerva shook her head, wiggling out of the Doctor's hand to run up to the stallholder Donna had spoken 'Celtic' to, "Excuse me? Have you seen a big, blue, wooden box? It was over there?" she nodded back, "Where's it gone to?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" the stallholder replied with a smug smile.

Minerva paused to process that one, "But...but it wasn't _yours_ to sell...so..."

"It was on my patch, wasn't it? I got 15 sesterce for it. Lovely jubbly," the man rubbed his hands together.

The Doctor marched up to the man, trying really hard not to be as angry as he was, "Who did you sell it to!?"

"Old Caecilius. Look... if you want to argue, why don't you take it up with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa can't miss it."

"Stop selling things that aren't yours!" Minerva exclaimed before running off with the Doctor.

However, the Doctor had a stricken idea and returned to the stallholder, his anger exchanging for a bemused expression, "What did he buy a big, blue wooden box for?"

~0~

In Caecilius' villa, Caecilius himself watched his new purchase, the TARDIS, be placed in a corner of the main room of the villa, " Modern art! Out of the way, that's it! " he shooed his servants out of the way yet stopped one, "Oh, Rombus, I'm a little bit peckish. Get me some ants in honey, there's a good man. Ooh, maybe a dormouse!" his wife, Metalla, looked on at the box with distaste, "What do you think?"

She frowned, "You call it modern art. I call it a bloody great waste of space."

"But we're going up in the world, my love. Lucius Dextrus himself is coming to the house this afternoon. What, with that and our Evelina about to be elevated..."

Their only daughter, Evelina, entered the room, nearly bored of the mention of her by her father, "Oh, don't go on about it, Dad."

"If we had moved to Rome like I said, she could have been a Vestal Virgin," Metella shook her head.

Their teenage son, Quintus, entered the room, "Someone mention Vestal Virgins?"

"Quintus, don't be so rude. You apologize to the household gods," his mother scolded.

"Get off."

"Apologize right now. The gods are always watching."

The ground rumbled...

"Positions!" Caecilius exclaimed.

The entire family ran to their positions around the villa to keep their valuables from falling. When the rumbling stopped, Caecilius kissed the head of a bust beside him.

"There, now you've made the household gods angry. Just say sorry," Metella pointed to their shrine of household gods. The teenage boy finally went over to the shrine, grumbling, "I tell you, Caecilius, that boy will come to no good."

Quintus dipped his fingers in a chalice and sprinkled water on a marble frieze in front, "Sorry, household gods."

"So where were you last night? Down the thelopolium, I bet, cavorting with Etruscans, Christians and all sorts. How's your head, sunshine? How's your head?" Caecilius asked, clapping his hands as he spoke each word, Quintus wincing at each clap.

"All right, Dad. Give us a break," Quintus muttered.

"You want to smarten yourself up, Quintus, before Lucius Dextrus gets her. Look at your sister. She is giving us... status," Metella gestured to their daughter, the girl seeming bored as ever.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause it's all about Evelina."

"She has the gift," Metella held up Evelina's hand with an eye painted over it, "Be proud of your sister for once," she directed herself to her daughter, "Have you been consuming?"

"Not this morning," she said.

"Well, come on, sweetheart. Practice. It's hot today," Metella led Evelina to the hypocaust at the center of the room, "The hypocaust is on full blast," the two sat on the edge around it, "The mountain god must be happy. Breathe deeply. Remember what the sisterhood said."

Evelina leaned over and took a deep breath in, wincing at the end, "It hurts."

"Oh, my love, is it too hot?"

Evelina shook her head, "Sometimes in the smoke... I see the most terrible things."

"Like what?"

"A face. A face of stone."

"It'll make sense... one day... Sister Spurrina promised it. The veil will be parted and you'll be a seer," Metella left her daughter and walked off.

Evelina took another breath and looked down into the head. Underneath, a creature of stone looked up and growled, Evelina leaning back with surprise, "Who are you?" she whispered.

~0~

"Ha! I've got it! Foss Street, this way!" the Doctor yelled to Donna as he and Minerva returned from an alternate street.

"No, I've found this big sort of amphitheater I think...we can start there. We can get everyone together. Then maybe they've got a great, big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?" Donna rambled on, the pair trying to follow what it was all for.

"What do you want a bell for?" Minerva tilted her head.

"To warn everyone! To start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

Minerva's face fell, realizing what the ginger was trying to do. She looked at the Doctor, the man very serious when he spoke, "It's 79 AD, 23 of August which makes Volcano Day tomorrow."

"Plenty of time. We can get everyone out easy," Donna moved to leave again.

"Except we're not going to," the Doctor grabbed her hand, preventing her from departing.

"But that's what you do. You're the Doctor. You save people," Donna pulled her hand to no avail.

"Donna..." Minerva said quietly, the ginger seeing a different look in Minerva's eyes...sadness, but a guilty sadness.

"Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens happens. There is no stopping it," the Doctor tried to pull her along with them.

"Says who?" Donna snapped, able to take her hand back.

"Says me."

"What, and you're in charge?"

"TARDIS, Time Lord... yeah."

"Donna, human... no! I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

"Donna, it's not that simple," Minerva tried to cut in, but both parties were getting severely irritated with one another.

"You stand in the marketplace and announce the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. TARDIS, we are getting out of here," the Doctor tried to reach Donna again but she stormed off.

"Well, I just might have something to say about that, spaceman!"

"Oh, I bet you will!" the Doctor shook his head. Minerva took his hand, unable to understand just how complicated it was for him in these positions, but she could offer her comfort. He looked down at her, afraid of what she could say like Donna, "You know we have to leave, right?"

"I understand that there's nothing to do," she sighed, "But try to understand Donna for a moment. She's been searching for you for over a year, thinking of how grand you were despite the whole Racnoss thing. She thinks you can save everyone, and while you strive to do that...you're just one man, sometimes...it's just not possible," he saddened up at the truth, his gaze falling. But Minerva leaned up to propose a gentle kiss on his lips, "It's alright," she whispered to him.

Just like _he_ could make her smile, _she_ had that same affect on him despite any bad situation. The Doctor really did not know how he'd managed to go on like he usually did without a woman like her at his side. No one could ever make him feel better like she did, as quick as she did...well, there was _one_ other person. _Kaeya_. Despite keeping to their friendship when he'd gotten married, only _she_ could comfort him the way he needed to be better. He felt awfully bad for his wife who did try to comfort him, but...it was never the same. No one ever reached to Kaeya...except Minerva. She had the...thing necessary, that always managed to get him smiling even when that was the last thing he wanted to do. But why...why did he think back to Kaeya all of a sudden, again?

The young soothsayer from before, watched the pair go off. She placed her hands over her eyes, the back of her hands having the same eyes painted over them like Evelina's. It then created a communication line with the other sisters, "The tall one, he calls us mad."

~ 0 ~

In the temple of Sibyl, Sister Spurrina answered with her hands over he eyes, "Then he is a stranger to Pompeii. Soon he will learn."

Sister Thalina arrived with two other sisters, she carrying a scroll in her hands, "We have found it, Sister Spurrina. In the 13th book of the Sybiline oracle. The blue box," she unrolled the scroll to reveal a drawing of the TARDIS, "A temple made of wood... and yet the Sibyl foretold the box would appear at a time of storms and fire and betrayal."

"Sisters..." a strained voice called out to them, the high priestess. The sisters moved to stand in front of a gauze curtain.

"Reverend Mother, you should sleep," Sister Spurrina said.

"The Sibylline oracles are wrong."

"But we have venerated her words for generations."

"This is a new age. Heed my words. I predict a future of prosperity and might... and endless empire of Pompeii, reaching out from this city to topple Rome itself and encompass the whole wide world. If the disciples of the blue box defy this prophecy, their blood will run on the temple floor."

The ground rumbled underneath them and the sisters looked up with gasps, "The gods approve!" sister Spurrina said.

~0~

"Positions!" called Caecilus as the ground shook, his family running once again to their appointed places.

The Doctor saved a bust from falling to the floor before Caecilius could get to it, 'Whoa!" he slapped the bust's cheeks, "There you go."

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor," Caecilius took the bust from him and returned it to its place.

 **"** Oh, that's me," the Doctor leaned to shake the man's hand, "I'm a visitor. Hello."

"Who are you?"

"I am... Spartacus," the Doctor grinned, shooting Minerva a look of pleading for her to go along.

"Yeah, I'm Minerva," she greeted.

"Spoilsport," the Martian muttered under his breath.

"I'll be Spartacus!" Donna volunteered, a bit happier than earlier.

"Mr and Mrs Spartacus?" Caecilius looked between them.

"Oh no, we're not married," the Doctor quickly shook his head, Donna doing the same.

"So not together," Donna added.

"That would be my job," Minerva interlaced her hands with the Doctor's, "The together part, not the married part," she quickly clarified as a blush crept on her face.

"I'm her sister!" Donna declared, Minerva beaming at that, "Yeah, sisters."

"Yes, of course. You look very much alike," Caecilius said.

"Really?" both women glanced at each other, looking themselves up and down, "Hm," they both shrugged.

"Family," Minerva reminded the Doctor of her words.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade," Caecilius informed.

"And that trade would be?" the Doctor asked.

"Marble. Lucius Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper then, Metella gasping, "By the gods of commerce, an inspection," she took a cup of wine from Quintus, "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son," she dumped the wine into the pool.

"Oi!" the teenager cried.

"This is my good wife, Metella. I- I must confess, we're not prepared for a...uh," Caecilius said, frowning at his son and his antics.

"Nothing to worry about. I- I'm sure you've got nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that..." the Doctor pointed to the TARDIS, "...object...rather looks like wood to me," he and the women walked over to it.

"I told you to get rid of it!" Metella hissed to her husband.

"I only bought it today."

"Ah, well. Caveat emptor," the Doctor said.

"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although, while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?" Donna narrowed her eyes to the Doctor.

"I don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

Minerva sighed, seeing the disagreement rise up again.

"Oh, this lovely family, mother and father and son... Don't you think they should get out of town?" Donna insisted.

"Why should we do that?" Caecilius questioned.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes as Donna continued to explain, the ginger just didn't get it.

"Well, the volcano for starters," she said.

"What?" Caecilius frowned at the foreign word.

"Volcano."

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."

"Oh, Spartacus, for shame. We haven't even greeted the household gods yet," the Doctor pulled Donna and Minerva towards the shrine, "They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet," he whisper-scolded Donna as he dipped his fingers into the water, "The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh great. They can learn a new word... when they _die_ ," Donna rolled her eyes.

"Donna, stop it!"

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flyin' around with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy..." she nodded to Quintus, "how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's my fault?"

"Right now, yes!"

"Stop it," Minerva snapped, infuriated by Donna's last words, "You will _not_ blame him for these people's death, do you understand me?" She knew exactly what the Doctor had to do for the Time War, plus the accidental deaths of the Silver Monsoon, she was not about to let someone come and tell him that Pompeii was _also_ his fault, "Donna, you don't get it, alright? Things must happen so that other things can start, Pompeii just happens to be one of them," Minerva explained.

Donna stared at her with incredulious eyes, what was she saying!?

"Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the city government," the servant, Rhombus, announced.

An older man sauntered inside with quite a distasteful look, "Lucius, my pleasure as always," Caecilius greeted.

The trio returned to rest, curious of the new visitor.

"Quintus, stand up," Metella ordered, the boy heaving an irritated sigh and listening.

"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius held out his hand for Lucius but was ignored.

"The birds are flying north... and the wind is in the west."

Puzzled, Caecilius struggled to form a response, "Right. Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom?"

Metella shook her head, "Never. It's an honor."

"Pardon me, sir, I have guests. This is Spartacus, and, uh, Spartacus, and Minerva," Caecilius gestured to the trio who simply waved.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind," Lucius said.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," the Doctor countered.

"Ah! What is the dark other than an omen of the sun?"

"I concede that every sun must set..."

"Ha!"

"...and yet the son of the father must also rise."

"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."

"No idea what the hell you just said," Minerva mumbled, though that tingle spread around her body again. She loved it when her Martian was all brilliant!

"Oh yes, but don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo," the Doctor said, smirking down at Minerva. Now _he loved_ to show off for his clever girl.

"He's Celtic," Caecilius whispered to Lucius.

"We'll be off in a minute," the Doctor took Minerva's hand and headed for the TARDIS, Donna only walking a few steps.

"I'm not going," she declared.

"It's ready, sir," Caecilius turned to Lucius, forgetting about the trio.

"Donna, you've got to," Minerva whispered.

"How can you be okay with this?" Donna frowned, "This isn't you!"

"The moment of revelation," Caecilius unveiled a square piece of marble, "And here it is..."

The Doctor looked over his shoulder just as a squared, almost computer-chip looking design, was being revealed to Lucius.

"Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?" Caeilius asked with good hope.

"As the rain pleases the soil," Lucius nodded.

The Doctor rejoined the men, curiosity getting the best of him, "Oh now that's... different. Who designed that then?"

"My lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius replied, awaiting for another positive response from Lucius.

"Where'd you get the pattern?"

"On the rain and mist and wind.

 **"** Well that looks like a circuit," Donna remarked, Minerva agreeing.

"Like a big computer chip," Minerva added, frowning at its futuristic appeal, "That shouldn't be here," she missed the deep glare Lucius gave her as she continued studying the 'circuit'.

"Made of stone," the Doctor brushed a finger over it.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that up?" Donna looked at Lucius with a dumbfounded expression.

"That is my job... as City Augur," Lucius replied.

"What's that then, like the mayor?"

"Oh, ah, you must excuse our friend. She's from... Barcelona," the Doctor pulled the ginger to aside, Minerva casting them an apologetic look before she followed, "This is an age of superstition... of official superstition. The augur is paid by the city to tell the future. "The wind will blow from the west." That's the equivalent of the 10:00 news."

Evelina entered the room, looking pale and ill, barely able to even stand, "They're laughing at us. Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

"We don't mean any harm," Minerva frowned, disliking the appearance of the girl. Her eyes were watery and she seemed to tremble in her struggle to stay on her feet.

"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapors," Metella walked over to Evelina.

"By the gods, Mother! What have you been doing to her?" Quintus gaped, his sister was severely ill looking!

"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius tried to hush them down.

"But she's sick. Just look at her."

"I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift," Lucius said, not too pleased.

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sybiline Sisterhood. They say she has remarkable visions," Metella explained.

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the men folk have the capacity for true perception."

"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate," Donna snapped.

"That wasn't nice," Minerva agreed.

The ground quaked.

"The mountain god marks your words. I'd be careful if I were you," Lucius warned the two.

"Consuming the vapors, you say?" the Doctor focused on Evelina.

"They give me strength," the girl responded.

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion... as a doctor?" she raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor blinked, taken aback, "I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor. That's your name."

"How did you know that?" he frowned, bewildered.

Minerva moved to his side, "Doctor..." she frowned, feeling a bit scared.

"And you, you call yourself noble," Evelina looked at Donna.

Donna also frowned and moved over to her friends, "Well..."

"And then you," Evelina studied Minerva, seeming a bit confused for a moment, "A name is yet to be chosen."

"What does that mean?" Minerva frowned, unconsciously moving a bit behind the Doctor.

"Now then Evelina, don't be rude," Metella gave an apologetic smile to the trio.

"No, no, no. Let her talk," the Doctor nodded for her to continue.

"You come from so far away..." Evelina said before Lucius cut in.

"A female soothsayer in inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."

"Oh, not this time, Lucius. I reckon you've been out-soothsaid," the Doctor grinned.

"Is that so... man from Gallifrey?" Lucius tested, smirking at the Doctor's stiffen posture.

"What?"

"Strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?"

"Doctor, what are they doing?" Donna scooted closer to Minerva.

"And you, daughter of... London," Lucius smiled smugly.

"How does he know that?" Donna blinked.

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"But that's impossible."

"Doctor, she is returning...no, _they_ are returning."

"Who's they?" the Doctor frowned, he really wasn't too pleased to have all his history revealed.

Lucius returned his gaze to Donna, "Daughter of London, you have something on your back," his eyes flickered over to Minerva's, "And you have something on your heart."

Minerva's hand flew to her chest, "Wh-what?"

The Doctor gripped her hand, shooting Lucius a dark glare. Minerva didn't need to know what laid inside her. She didn't know yet because of _this_ very reason, her inevitable fear. She didn't need to know that in the very core of her body, the one thing that sustained her life, her _heart_ , was a crystal.

But to his misfortune, Lucius continued...

"The child of the Moon will consume you both," he declared to Minerva _and_ Donna.

"What does that mean?" both women looked at each other with frantic looks.

"Stop it!" ordered the Doctor, more darkness in his tone. He was not about to let someone go and scare Minerva, much less reveal what was hidden in her heart, "Say what you want to _me_ but you leave them out!"

 **"** Even the word "Doctor" is false," Evelina spoke again, the Doctor somewhat relieved at least one of the psychic's listened to him, " Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir. A lord... of time..." and then she fainted.

"Evelina!" Metella rushed to her daughter's side, the Doctor following to help.

Minerva and Donna looked at each other again, equally terrified of what had just happened.

~0~

Evelina was laying on her bed, still unconscious, while her mother cared for her. It had grown dark outside and the girl still wouldn't wake up. Donna and Minerva entered the room, both still shaken from the teen's words but that didn't stop their concern for her.

"She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl," Metella tried to mend her daughter's blurting, "But when the gods speak through her..." she unwrapped a cloth from Evelina's arm, revealing something that really shouldn't be on skin.

"What's wrong with her arm?" Donna asked, her eyes trailing the gray texture of Evelina's arm.

 **"** An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."

"But what exactly _is_ it?" Minerva stepped up, half of a guess already forming in her mind.

"Evelina said you'd come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

Minerva, respectfully, stepped over to the girl and mother and ran her fingers along Evelina's arm, "It's stone..." she muttered, lost of how that was even possible. She looked up, Metella looking with mighty concern for her daughter, "Um, I need to go see the Doctor."

Metella glanced back to her daughter, taking Minerva's words as something wrong with her daughter.

~0~

In the main room of the villa, the Doctor and Caecilius were at the hypocaust, the Doctor removing the grille, "Ah! Different sort of hypocaust."

"Oh yes, we're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs... leading from Vesuvius itself," Caecilius replied, glancing down very briefly.

"Who thought of that?"

"The soothsayers after the great earthquake seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage but we rebuilt."

"Didn't you think of moving away?" the Doctor asked. That would've been a _lot_ better, because then...then they _wouldn't_ have to die...he wouldn't have to let them die. He quickly caught himself falling silent and said the first thing that popped into his head, " Oh, no, then again, San Francisco."

"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"

The Doctor looked down at the hypocaust, hearing a loud grating and rumbling, "What's that noise?"

"Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring..." Caecilius said quietly, he didn't like to hear those sounds either. Most of the time he tried to ignore them along with his family.

"But after the earthquake... let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been... shall we say "imprecise"? But then... the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex-all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

"Have they said anything about tomorrow?"

"No. Why should they? Why do you ask?"

The Doctor had great struggle to keep his sigh in, they could not be saved, they just couldn't, "No reason...just, just asking... But the soothsayers... they all consume the vapors?"

"That's how they see."

The Doctor took out his glasses and put them on, leaning into the hypocaust, "Ipso facto..."

"Look, you..."

"They're all consuming this," the Doctor straightened up as he let small particles run through his fingers.

"Dust?"

"Tiny particles of rock," the Doctor let the rest of the particles run through his fingers before tasting it, "They're breathing in Vesuvius."

"You did _not_ just taste that," Minerva walked in, grimacing at her Martian, "Caecilius, would you mind if I spoke with him alone?" she asked, very politely.

Caecilius nodded and stood to his feet, walking off and leaving the pair alone.

"First of all," Minerva walked over, one finger raised, "You shall _not_ be kissing _me_ today."

The Doctor stood, smiling smugly as he thought of his next words, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to find myself another to kiss," the pair stood face to face.

"Don't you _dare_ , Martian," she warned, grabbing his lapels, "I'll kill them," she nodded with assurance, only getting an amused smile out of him, "And I'll make it look like an accident. I know how..." his smile widened and so she sighed, "Just stop tasting things," she mumbled and grimaced.

"Mm, but I _must_ taste your lips," he grabbed her by the waist, gently setting his lips on hers.

Even through Minerva's hesitation at first, she ultimately responded. She cursed herself for her weakness against her Martian's charms. She thought he could drop rotten fruit into his mouth and he would _still_ be able to kiss her.

"How's about that, clever girl?" the Doctor murmured against her lips, "Your lips taste like strawberries."

"I hate you," she muttered and stepped back, still blushing.

"Anything on your mind?" the Doctor asked, returning to business.

"Um, yeah, Evelina's arm, it-it has something," Minerva gestured to her arm, mimicking the spot she was affected in, "Like, um stone or something."

"Yeah..." the Doctor glanced back at the hypocaust, his mind wandering to Lucius, "...perhaps I should visit."

" _We_ should visit," Minerva corrected.

"N-n-n-no," he shook his head, absolutely not about to have that.

"Yes," she said firmly.

"No! I'll go on my own!"

"Doctor, you don't even know where the man lives," she reminded, making the Martian settle down at the truth, "Lucky for you, I might just know who does," she grabbed his hand and led him out of the main room.

~0~

Quintus was lounging about, sipping some wine when Minerva walked up, quite firm, while the Doctor lingered behind.

"Hiii," Minerva waved, putting on her best cheerful look, "You wouldn't happen to know where this Lucius Petrus Dextrus lives do you?

 **"** Nothing to do with me," the boy shrugged.

"Oh c'mon," she plopped down beside him, "Hang over yet still drinking wine and wasting your time? Oh yeah, you know where he lives."

"Is this supposed to make me tell?"

Minerva thought for a moment, glancing back at the Doctor when she popped an idea. She winked and he stiffened when she put on her sweet smile, "Quintus...won't you _please_ tell us where he lives?" she scooted closer.

"Yeah, let _me_ try," the Doctor marched over, pulling the clever girl up to his side, "NO," he wagged a finger to her, making her pout. He rolled his eyes and pecked her lips, "No," he reinstated. He walked up to Quintus, "This Lucius Petrus Dextrus... " he pulled a coin behind the boy's ear, "...where does he live?"

Minerva shook her head as Quintus immediately propped up, "Well that worked."

"Right then, you stay here with Donna," the Doctor returned, stopping her from shaking her head with his hands, "You are going to _stay_ with Donna."

"But Doctor-" she tried but a set of lips pressed to hers.

"Wow," the Doctor pulled away equally dazed as her. It was really only a way to get _her_ dazed and obedient, but somehow _he_ had ended up dazed as well. Darn her charms! "So, stay here, and I'll be back later!" he pecked her lips and ran off, Quintus right behind.

Minerva just blinked, stumbling back, "Oh that cursed Martian..." she sighed, starting her way back to Evelina's room.

She hated when he did that, and that was very _often_. She'd found that being human was not helping her case when it came to helping the Doctor fight whoever needed to be fight. The Doctor always tried leaving her where it was 'safe' and so she couldn't really help. She really did want to change that but some how it didn't seem like an easy task to do...

~0~

Donna posed a new, purple toga for Evelina and Minerva, the women laughing with the ginger, "You're not supposed to laugh. Thanks for that. What do you think?" Donna struck another a pose, "The goddess Venus."

"Hey, goddess Minerva," Minerva wiggled her fingers in a wave, "Like sisters!"

"Oh, you two, that's sacrilege!" Evelina laughed, still laying on her bed as she felt slightly weak from earlier.

"Nice to see you laugh, though," Donna remarked, taking a seat on the bed, "What do you do in old Pompeii, then... girls your age? You got... mates? Do you go hangin' about 'round the shops? T.K. Maximus?"

Evelina shook her head, "I'm promised to the sisterhood for the rest of my life."

"You get any choice in that?" Minerva asked, somewhat sadly.

She considered Evelina to be like her concerning their choices. The only difference was that unlike Evelina, she didn't let others make the choice for her. She got out, she liberated herself and traveled. She didn't want to be a lawyer and she wasn't going to be one. But that wasn't the issue for Evelina; it didn't seem like she was allowed to make that choice.

"It's not my decision. I have the gift of sight. The sisters chose for me," Evelina replied, her eyes lowering for a moment.

"Then... what can you see happening tomorrow?" Donna asked, Minerva shooting her a sharp look.

"Is tomorrow special?"

"You tell me. What do you see?"

"Donna," Minerva said, her voice hard. Donna glanced at her, not backing down. How could she allow a family to die when she had the power to save them?

Evelina, not noticing the glances, closed her eyes and thought, "The sun will rise. The sun will set. Nothing special at all," she opened her eyes again and smiled.

"Look... don't tell the Doctor I said anything 'cause he'll kill me... but I've got a prophecy too."

"Donna," Minerva said again, the ginger waving her off.

Evelina quickly covered her eyes, creating a link with the sisterhood so they would hear everything the ginger had to say.

"Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out..."

~0~

"Sisters..." Sister Spurrina covered her eyes, the rest of the sisterhood following.

~0~

"Evelina, can you hear me? Listen," Donna insisted, Minerva moving away from the pair and shaking her head.

"There is only one prophecy," Evelina said.

"But everything I'm about to say to you is true. I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, please listen. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks... tons and tons of it and... this whole town is gonna get buried."

"That's not true."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but everyone's gonna die."

"Donna!" Minerva exclaimed, "Don't!"

"Minerva, I've got to," Donna waved her off, "Evelina, even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town... just for one day, just for tomorrow. But you've got to get out! Just leave Pompeii!"

"This is false prophecy!" Evelina broke the contact with the sisters, frantic as she shook her head.

~0~

In the temple of the Sibyl, the sisters knelt down in front of the High Priestess, "The Noble woman, she spoke of a new prophecy... the fall of Pompeii," Sister Spurrina said.

"Pompeii will last forever," the High Priestess said.

"Then what must we do?"

"The false prophet must die. Sacrifice her."

The sisters bowed their heads in obedience...

~0~

The Doctor, begrudgingly, was finishing up his arrangement of the circuits in Lucius' homes, having been caught sneaking around, "Put this one... there," he took the last of the circuits from Quintus, "This one... there. Uh... I'll keep that one upside down. What have you got?"

"Enlighten me," Lucius said.

"What? The soothsayer doesn't know?"

"The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."

"Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that. But... it's an energy converter."

"An energy converter of what?"

"I don't know. Isn't that brilliant? I love not knowing, keeps me on my toes," the Doctor moved to stand beside Lucius, "It must be awful, being a prophet. Waking up every morning, "Is it raining? Yes, it is. I said so." Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius? Hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"

"I think you've babbled long enough."

"Lucius, really, tell me honestly. I'm on your side. I can help."

"You insult the gods! There can be only one sentence. At arms!" Lucius ordered and several guards entered with arms, the Doctor backing away to Quintus' side and removing his glasses.

"Oh, morituri te salutant," the Doctor mumbled.

 **"** Celtic prayers won't help you now."

"But it was him, sir. He made me do it. Sir Dextrus, please don't," Quintus tried moving away from the Doctor in fear.

"Come on now, Quintus... dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it? " the Doctor held his hand out to Lucius, remembering Minerva's words about Evelina's arm, "Come on," he wiggled his fingers, Lucius only glaring, "Dying man's wish?" and then the Doctor lunged forwards and grabbed Lucius hand, yanking his forearm off.

" But he's..." Quintus breathed, an arm had just been taken apart!

"Show me," the Doctor ordered.

Lucius threw back his cloak and revealed his stump of a stone arm, "The work of the gods."

"He's stone!" Quintus exclaimed.

 **"** 'Armless enough, though. Whoop!" the Doctor threw the arm back to Lucius and ran off, "Quintus!"

The boy threw the torch at one of the guards and scurried out the window while the Doctor used the screwdriver on the circuits, "Out! Out! Out! Hurry!"

As the circuits fell to the floor, Lucius clambered to try and stop them, "The carvings!"

~0~

The Doctor jumped onto the street, Quintus right behind him, "Run!"

~0~

Lucius examined the circuits very carefully, relieved at their perfect condition, "My carvings! The work is unbroken. Oh, lord of the mountain, I beseech you."

~0~

Lucius had moved to the hypocaust, looking down, "This man would prevent the rise of Pompeii," a snarling sound came from below, "Lord, I beg of you, show yourself! Show yourself!"

The same creature Evelina saw was roaming below...

~0~

"Donna, that was wrong!" Minerva walked out of Evelina's room, the ginger following in a pursuit, "You shouldn't have done that!"

"Oi, oi, oi, how can you tell me it was wrong!?" Donna demanded, "How can you allow for these people to die? That's not the Minerva I knew at my wedding!"

"That Minerva's gone!" the brunette spun around, the ginger bumping into her, "Donna, the girl you met at your wedding..." she sighed, "...she's gone, thank the god. I'm _healing_ now. That Minerva had just lost the only people she could call a second family," all except Rose for course, she thought, "I didn't know what the Doctor had to do sometimes. I didn't know..."

"But, but you have such a good reign on him," Donna shook her head.

"I still do, but I also know when you _can't_ do anything," Minerva sighed, "Look, I get what you're trying to do and I like it. It's very you. I don't like the idea of all these people dying but if the Doctor says it has to happen, then it _has_ to. Donna he wouldn't let anyone die just because. He knows what he's doing."

"Does he really?" Donna challenged, "Because I think there could be another way."

"Donna, I think we're going to be like family, but I will not allow you to add another burden to his conscious. He's lost so much and I won't let him think this is his fault."

"Minerva, please," Donna stepped up, "I know you don't want them dying, you can't allow it...help me."

"I don't even know how," Minerva stepped away, "They have to die, and it breaks my heart."

Donna sighed, her mind racing to come up with another idea to get the brunette to help. Okay, fine, she admitted Minerva did look like she changed, but it couldn't have changed that much, right?

~0~

The Doctor and Quintus stopped at a street, trying to catch their breath while the Doctor searched around for their chasers, "No sign of 'em. Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right."

"But his arm, Doctor. Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Quintus was terrified at the fate of his sister.

A loud booming echoed, making the pair stumble around as the ground shook.

"What's that?" the Doctor spun around, searching for the origin of the sound.

"The mountain?" Quintus suggested.

"No, it's closer," the thudding continued until several things around started falling over even though there was nothing, "They're footsteps!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"It can't be."

"Footsteps underground!"

"What is it? What is it?"

But the Doctor turned the boy around and started to run again. As they passed vents on the streets, steam blew up like geysers.

~0~

"What is it? What's that noise?" Metella looked around the main room of the villa, the ground shaking as well.

"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius said.

The rushed inside, Donna and Minerva coming about as well, "Caecilius! All of you, get out!"

"Doctor, what is it?" Minerva frowned, nearly stumbling back to the ground if Donna hadn't caught her.

"I think we're being followed," the Doctor answered right before the grille over the hypocaust blew up to the air, "Just get out!" he tried to herd the group out the door, loud growling emerging from the hypocaust as it cracked.

After that, no one moved...

A creature of stone and magma forced its way to the surface.

"The gods are with us," Evelina breathed.

"Water! We need water! Quintus, all of you, get water! Donna! Minerva!" the Doctor shouted.

The trio, along with a servant, ran out of the room to fetch the water.

Rhombus took a step forwards to the creature, "Blessed are we to see the gods," but the creature breathed fire and burned the man to ash.

The Doctor tried to approach the creature, his hands out in an act of neutrality, "Talk to me! That's all I want! Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people."

As Donna and Minerva made their way back with water, the sisterhood snatched Donna. And when Minerva tried to yell for her friend, another snatched her.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Donna's cries were muffled as she was pulled away.

Minerva's eyes hardened and with one swift move, she grabbed the woman's arm and flipped her to the floor. _That's_ why she had taken her self-defense classes, to prevent herself from becoming useless and a damsel in distress. That was most definitely not the way to get the Doctor to take her along when he needed to. She pressed her foot to the woman's stomach, not to hurt her but to restrain her from making another move.

"Talk to me. I'm the Doctor. Tell me who you are," the Doctor continued to plead, unbeknownst of what had happened behind him.

But the creature prepared to breathe on the Doctor, give him the same fate as the servant. Quintus and the servant returned with urns and Quintus dipped it into the pool," Doctor!" he shouted before they threw water at the creature, it freezing and falling, crumbling to piece on the ground.

"What was it?" Caecilius asked, it had to be the devil himself!"

"Carapace of stone... held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop. But I reckon that's just a foot soldier..." the Doctor stared at the piece of the creature.

"Doctor... or whatever your name is... you bring bad luck in this house," Metella shook her head.

"I thought your son was brilliant. Aren't you going to thank him?" Minerva made them all turn around, seeing her with her foot on a random soothsayer.

Metella, horrified with the additional sight, hugged her son. The Doctor quickly ran over, "What happened!

"They took Donna and she tried taking me," Minerva stared down at the woman.

"She tried _what_?" the Doctor immediately pulled the brunette to his side, "You tried what?" he glared down at the woman.

"She was going to yell," the woman grunted, trying to remove Minerva's foot from her stomach, "We only wanted the Noble one."

"You are going to lead us straight to my ginger sister!" Minerva warned, as upset as she was with Donna she wouldn't leave her to her death.

~0~

"You have _got_ to be _kidding_ me," was all Donna had to say as she laid on a sacrificial altar, sister Spurrina holding a dagger above her.

"The false prophet will surrender both her blood and her breath."

"I'll surrender you in a minute," Donna mumbled, "Don't you dare!"

"You will be silent."

"You might have eyes on the back of your hands but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I finish with you! Let me... go!"

"This prattling will cease... forever," Sister Spurrina raised her dagger above her head, preparing to strike the day.

"Oh, that'll be the day," the Doctor called, he and Minerva standing by a pillar.

Minerva elbowed him in the ribs, "Oi, don't be rude," he playfully rolled his eyes. She then reached behind her and pulled out the soothsayer that attacked her, "You forgot this!"

"And I'm the rude one?" she heard the Doctor mumble.

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sybil," Sister Spurrina declared, not too caring of the sister left behind.

"Oh, that's all right, just us girls," the Doctor stuffed his hands in his pocket, making his way over.

"Yeah, he claims women talk too much but he can go on for _hours_ ," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Minerva, shush time," the Martian called back, "But do you know, I met the Sibyl once. Hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance a tarantella. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, "I know". Well, she would."

"I didn't like her," Minerva declared, walking over to Donna.

"Oh but you know where my hearts lay, dear," he shot her wink.

She blushed, looking down to their ginger friend, "Hey Donna, how's it hanging?"

"Oh you know..." Donna nodded up to the ropes tying her hands above her head.

"I like the toga," the Doctor complemented as he used the screwdriver to free her.

"Thank you. And the ropes?" she sat up, rubbing her wrists.

"So does not go with your outfit," Minerva joked, helping her to her feet.

"What magic is this?" Sister Spurrina demanded, bewildered by the whirring stick.

The Doctor flipped the screwdriver and put it away, "Let me tell you about the Sibyl... the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes... a knife that now welcomes you!" Sister Spurring raised her knife again.

"Show me this man," the high priestess ordered, cutting his thoughts off.

Everyone turned around, the sisters kneeling, "High Priestess, the stranger would defy us!" Sister Spurrina exclaimed.

"Let me see. This one is different. He carries starlight in his wake."

The Doctor, Minerva and Donna approached the curtain, "Ah, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?" the Doctor asked, meanwhile the women beside were trying to get a clear view of the priestess.

"The gods whisper to me."

"Her voice sounds strained..." Minerva remarked, wincing each time the priestess spoke.

"Oh, they've done far more than that. Ah, might I beg audience, look upon the High Priestess?" the Doctor questioned, the curtains parting a mere two seconds later.

Donna and Minerva gasped once they saw the woman across. She was sitting upon a bed, nearly converted to stone, "Oh my God! What's happened to you?" Donna blinked.

"The heavens have blessed me," the high priestess responded.

"If I might..." the Doctor motioned himself wanting to get closer. She raised her arm and the Doctor knelt in front and touched it, feeling the same stone from Lucius' arm, only stronger and harder, "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary."

"Who told you that?"

"The voices."

"So that's what's happening to Evelina..." Minerva frowned, glancing back at the other sisters, "Is this what's gonna happen to all of you?"

Sister Spurrina approached them, pulling back her sleeve to reveal her own arm that was turning to stone, "The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone," Donna touched her arm.

"A blessing shouldn't hurt," Minerva said, "A gift shouldn't hurt. If they do then they're not gifts."

"The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts," the Doctor returned to them, "But why?"

"This word... this image in your mind, this "volcano", what is that?" the High Priestess asked.

"More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibyline."

"No, no, no, no. I'm talking to the creature inside you. The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust in the lungs... taking over the flesh and turning it into... what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible."

"Oh, but you can read my mind. You know it's not," the Doctor frowned, growing more serious, "I demand you tell me who you are!"

The High Priestess's voice began echoing with another, "We... are... awakening!"

"The voice of the gods!" Sister Spurrina exclaimed.

"Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power," the sister began to chant, repeating those words endlessly.

"Name yourself! Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor nearly shouted, his patience running thin with these mysterious creatures.

"We... are... rising!"

"Tell me your name!"

The high priestess threw her hood back, "Pyrovile!"

"Pyrovile. Pyrovile," the sister took on the word as a chant.

"What's a Pyrovile?" Minerva asked, "You haven't taught me that one, yet..."

"Well, that's a Pyrovile... growing inside her. She's at the halfway stage," the Doctor gestured to the creature in front of them.

"Well, and that turns into?" Donna asked, though she didn't know if she actually wanted to know what it would turn into.

"That thing in the villa, that was an adult Pyrovile."

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor."

"I warn you... I'm armed," the Doctor pulled out a water pistol, "Minerva, Donna, get that grille open."

"You're _serious_...?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, unable to make the decision whether or not her Martian was plain ridiculous or amazing because even here, in a dire situation, he wouldn't pull out an actual weapon of harm.

"Just..." the Doctor jerked his head to the hypocaust, the pair of women running over to it, "What are the Pyrovile doing here?" he demanded from the creature.

"We fell from the heavens. We fell so far and so fast we were rendered into dust."

"Right. Creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."

"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself, but why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Yeah, okay, fine. You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but... seeing the future, that is way beyond psychic, you can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

Sister Spurring was watching with great intent at the Doctor, something about his 'weapon' not right...

"We got it!" Minerva called from the grille.

"Now get down!" the Doctor ordered, moving towards them, the water pistol still aimed at the high priestess.

"What, down there?" Donna looked down, the idea not too pleasing.

"Yes, down there! Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden?"

"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless," Sister Spurrina declared, the women standing up.

"Yeah, but it's got a sting!" he shot water and the High Priestess moaned in pain, "Get down there!" he ran over.

Minerva and Donna dropped through the opening, "You fought her off with a _water_ pistol. I bloody love you!" Donna laughed.

Minerva nodded fairly fast, pulling the Doctor for a deep kiss, "No one like you."

"Th-this way!" the Doctor blinked, pulling her up with him to their feet.

"Where are we going now?" Donna asked as the pair went ahead of her.

"Into the volcano!"

"No way."

"Yes, way," the Doctor twirled the pistol in his free hand, the other currently wrapped around Minerva's waist, "Appian way."

"You're such a dork," Minerva remarked.

"Can't be that big of a dork if I got you," he tapped her nose, making her roll her eyes, "Now c'mon!"

~0~

The trio were currently walking through the tunnels towards Vesuvius. Donna was currently trying another attempt to save Pompeii, "But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right? For you to stop it?"

"Still part of history," the Doctor replied, getting really tired of hearing what he just could not do. Ever.

"Well, I'm history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Some things are fixed, some things are in flux. Pompeii is fixed."

"How do you know which is which?"

The Doctor stopped walking, turning around, Minerva sighing as she felt him tense by their interlaced hands, "Because that's how I see the universe. Every waking second, I can see what is, what was... what could be, what must not. That's the burden of the Time Lord, Donna. I'm the only one left," he let go of Minerva's hand and walked on.

Just like he let go of her hand, he'd eventually have to let her go completely. Whether it was on her death or because she decided to find a man who could actually be with her all his life.

Minerva grabbed the side of her dress and hurried after the Doctor, taking his hand again, "I'll be with you," she offered, "Thick and thin, always."

He let out a faint smile, "I know."

"How many people died?" Donna demanded, also catching up.

"Stop it!" Minerva shouted, the ginger flinching but not backing down.

"Doctor!" she called again, the pair stopping and turning around, "How many people died?"

"Twenty thousand," he muttered, his mind making the calculation of all the deaths of _his_ planet.

"Is that what you can see, Doctor? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?"

A Pyrovile screeched, cutting their moment.

"They know we're here! Come on," the Doctor pulled both women forwards.

The trio arrived at the great cavern where other Pyroviles were roaming about.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius," the Doctor mumbled, barely peeking up, "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of 'em," Donna gasped at the sight.

"It's too hot," whined Minerva, fanning herself.

The Doctor glanced at her, Minerva would never complain about such a silly thing in a dire situation. Her face was severely red, droplets of sweat beginning to emerge from her forehead.

The crystal was acting up again...it detested the heat.

He sighed, for now there wasn't much to do. He took out a small collapsible telescope from his pocket and looked ahead, "What's that thing?"

"Well, you'd better hurry up and think of something. Rocky IV's on its way," Donna urged on.

He saw the interior of a ship through the telescope, "That's how they arrived... or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" he collapsed the telescope and put it away.

"Still doesn't explain why they haven't just gone home," Minerva muttered, wiping her forehead dry.

"Maybe... it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something," Donna suggested.

"No, it's worse that that..." the Doctor muttered.

"How can it be worse?" Donna asked, the sound of a nearing Pyrovile roaring emerged, "Doctor, it's getting closer."

"Heathens!" Lucius called, standing on a higher up cavern, "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor pulled the women down across the cavern floor, towards the ruined ship.

"We can't go in!" Donna hollered, the man was mad!

"Well can't go back!" Minerva reasoned.

"Crush them! Burn them!" Lucius ordered.

A Pyrovile stopped the trio from running, rising in front. The Doctor pulled out the water pistol and used it on the creature, making shoo off. They glanced back at Lucius and continued to run.

"There is nowhere to run, Doctor... and sisters of the moon, London!"

The Doctor stood in front of the pod, turning to Lucius, "Now then, Lucius. My lord Pyrovillian... don't get yourselves in a lava," he glanced back at the women, "In a lava... no?"

"Remember the whole correctamundo word thing with the Krillitanes?" Minerva asked, the Doctor nodding, "Add that word to the never-saying-again list."

"Fine," he muttered then continued on, "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish... once this new race of creatures is complete... then what?"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization," Lucius responded as a Pyrovile went towards them.

"But if you've crashed... and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" Minerva asked, the sense of violence was just really unnecessary.

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean "gone"? Where's it gone?" the Doctor frowned, somehow that sounded familiar.

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."

"Why do people keep losing planets!? Is it really that hard to keep them!?" Minerva shook her head, thinking back to Miss Foster.

"Yeah, well, we should warn you, it's 70% water out there," Donna called.

"Water can boil and everything will burn!"

The Doctor put away the water pistol, "Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Minerva! Donna!" he pushed both into the pod and followed, shutting the door with the sonic.

"You have them, my lords," Lucius opened his arms to the pod.

~ 0 ~

"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna frowned.

~ 0 ~

A Pyrovile breathed fire at the pod, increasing it's temperature by the thousands.

~ 0 ~

"It's too hot!" Minerva cried, her chest aching with pressure, like she couldn't breathe.

"Minerva? Minerva, c'mon, stay with me!" the Doctor grabbed her by her waist, sustaining her to her feet, "It'll be okay!"

"Do what you gotta do," she swallowed, trying to maintain her breath to a normal rate before she couldn't breathe entirely.

His hearts broke to see her like this and know there was nothing he could do to help her. But he forced himself to work, to get them out, if he could, "See, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix which wields Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"Well, can you change it... with these controls?" Donna looked at all the buttons, surely there was some type of pattern that could stop it all.

"'Course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back."

"Well, I can avert the system, so the volcano will blow them up, yes, but... that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

The ginger's eyes widened, gasping deeply, "Oh my God."

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's me. _I_ make it happen..." the Doctor stared at the controls, could he really be the responsible for more deaths?

"But the Pyrovile are made of rock. Maybe they can't be blown up," Minerva said to the Doctor, in hopes that perhaps she could be right at least once more.

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it," the Doctor was setting up the controls, stopping and looking at his clever girl by his side, leaning on him as she breathed steadily, "Certainly not us."

"Never mind us," Donna said quietly.

Minerva nodded in agreement, "20,003 people against 6 million in the future are nothing," she whispered.

"I failed you again," he could barely utter the words again.

"No, I _choose_ to die for the rest of the world," she looked up at him, "My life is not worth it if other people die because of me."

He set a hand on the lever, his courage slipping away. After the war, he just _couldn't_ do something like this, even if the number of deaths would be relatively small compared to the Time War's, "Push this lever and it's all over. Twenty thousand people."

Minerva breathed deeply, her eyes opening, she could never let him do something like this on his own. He wasn't alone anymore, she was there and she would always try to take away his guilt like he did to hers. She stood on her feet and pressed her hands over his, "I'm here," she said.

He looked horrified she was going to do this with him. She would soil her hands with him, _for_ him...

Donna placed her hands over theirs, determined to be with them as well. The trio looked at each other and pulled down the lever.

~ 0 ~

Evelina gasped as she felt the sudden change of the future, her parents rushing to her side.

~ 0 ~

The sisters of the temple also felt the change, gasping at the new images...

~ 0 ~

"Nooooo! Noooooo!" Lucius cried as the lava started busting up.

~ 0 ~

"Nooooo!" the High Priestess also cried.

"A new prophecy!" Sister Spurring exclaimed.

~ 0 ~

"The future is changing," Evelina shool horribly, her parents keeping her on her feet.

~ 0 ~

Lucius shrieked as the flames of the volcano burned him, the Pyroviles also in pain.

~ 0 ~

The trio's pod was ejected from the erupting mountain, all three jumbling about.

~ 0 ~

Caecilius had gone out to the window, seeing the eruption, "The sky is falling!"

"Death. Only death!" Evelina cried.

~ 0 ~

Outside Vesuvius, the trio climbed out of the escape pod, fumbling to keep on their feet after all the shakes.

"It was an escape pod," the Doctor breathed, nodding at his luck, "Well!" he glanced back at the women, Minerva looking much better but something in her eyes told him she wasn't completely there yet...

~ 0 ~

Inside Caecilius' villa, the furniture fell out of place with all the shaking, "Out! Out, everybody out! Quickly!" he tried ushering his family out. Unfortunately, the ceiling started falling all around, blocking their exit.

~ 0 ~

The trio were running down the marketplace, ash falling from above

~ 0 ~

The High Priestess wailed as the temple fell around. Sister Spurrina and Thalina were on the floor, the young soothsayer that had watched the trio lying across their laps, dead.

"You lied to us!" Sister Spurrina accused, her voice falling soft a moment later, "And yet this was meant to be."

~ 0 ~

The trio were running down the streets, back to the TARDIS. Donna, however, was lagging as she tried ushering anyone who would listen to run the other way to safety.

"Don't! Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me...!" she saw a little boy crying alone and went for him, "Come here."

The woman's mother came over and snatched him away, "Give him to me!"

Donna was devastated that no one would listen to her, her tears streaming down her face.

"Donna. Come on," Minerva yanked her by the arm.

~ 0 ~

The trio arrived at Caecilius' villa where the family was huddled together at a corner.

"Gods save us, Doctor!" Caecilius called, begging.

The Doctor stared at the group for a moment and ran inside, unable to help his guilt. Minerva ran after him but Donna took her hand, " _Please_ ," the ginger pleaded.

But there was a grim look in Minerva's eyes that said absolutely not, "It cannot happen," she pulled her hand and ran to the TARDIS.

"You can't! Doctor, Minerva, you can't!" Donna called after them, rushing inside the box.

The Doctor was preparing them to leave, Minerva at his side watching in silent, no words to describe her feelings at the moment.

"You can't just leave them!"

"Don't you think I've done enough? History's back in place and everyone dies," the Doctor snapped, locking his gaze on the controls. He didn't have the hearts to face the ginger.

"You've got to go back! Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!"

But the Doctor released the brake and started dematerializing, his face completely blank. Donna stared between the pair, her tears streaming like a water well.

"It's not fair," Donna said after a moment of silence.

"No, it's not," Minerva mumbled, looking down, distant from everything, "It wasn't fair."

The Doctor looked at her, getting the faint idea that those were Kaeya's words. Her death, after all, was _not_ fair.

"But your own planet, it burned," Donna said.

"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand?" he looked at the ginger, breaking as he spoke again, "If I could go back and save them then I would, but I can't. I can never go back! I can't! I just... can't!" he paused and spoke softer, coming to terms with it, "I can't."

"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone," Donna pleaded.

Minerva took the Doctor's hand, "Maybe..." she looked up at him with a small smile, "..maybe just this once?" he gripped her hand, swallowing as he looked at the crying ginger.

~ 0 ~

Caecilius and his family remained huddled together in the villa, with nothing else to do but sob and await for their death. Suddenly, they heard the sound of the TARDIS and a bright, white light filled the room. The blue box appeared and it's door opened, the Doctor standing at the doorway, holding his hand out for them, "Come with me."

Caecilius reached out and took the Doctor's hand.

~ 0 ~

The family and trio were standing on a hill overlooking Pompeii in ruins.

"It is never forgotten, Caecilius," the Doctor said, the family stared at the fate of their home, their friends, " Oh time will pass, men will move on, and stories will fade, but one day... Pompeii will be found again... in thousands of years... and everyone will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina? Can you see anything?" Donna asked, the girl, despite the big loss, looked fairly healthy again.

"The visions have gone."

"The explosion was so powerful, it cracked open a rift in time. Just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative," the Doctor explained.

"But not anymore. You're free," Minerva smiled, "Free to make your own decisions of your life."

"But tell me... who are you, Doctor... with your words... and your temple containing such size within?" Metella asked, still gazing down at the ruins of Pompeii.

"Oh, I was never here. Don't tell anyone."

"The great go Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of... volcano..." Caecilius said, his voice breaking, "All those people..." he hugged his wife, their children holding hands behind.

Discreetly, the trio slipped away into the TARDIS.

"Thank you," Donna said once they were gone.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded.

"Well done, ginger sister," Minerva half-smiled and leaned on the Doctor's arm, "Well done."

~ 0 ~

Minerva was running her hand along a shelf of books in the TARDIS library, frustrated as she came up empty once again. Exasperated, she stepped back, putting her hand on her hips, "C'mon box of wonders! Show me the book!"

"Something the matter?" the Doctor asked from the doorway, startling the woman.

She turned around, pouting, "Your box doesn't want to show me the book shelf I need! She doesn't like me!"

The Doctor just smiled for the moment as he made his way up to her, resting his hands on her waist, "She absolutely _adores_ you," he assured her, "Much like I do, only a lot more."

"Then why doesn't she show me the shelf I need? She always does!"

Minerva had taken custom of spending many of her time in the TARDIS library. She loved all the many books that were offered. It had every possible one! She'd even taken to try and reading a French book...with the help of the Doctor's of course. He knew every language and was more than glad to show her a new language, apart from everything else he had been teaching her. The library was Minerva's favorite place in the box of wonders and for some reason, the box was really messing with her at the moment.

"Well, what book are you looking for?" the Doctor turned her around, both standing in front of a book shelf, "Rapunzel? I know that's your favorite classic."

"Nah, I'm currently reading the Picture of Dorian Gray. But I need a book on the Royal Family of the Moontsays."

"Why do you need that?"

"Because, I was doing some research on the planet like we agreed to," Minerva brought him over to a table that had books sprawled all over, "You know, to give us more ideas on how to help Kaeya but then I stumbled across a small chapter of her family and I found something weird."

"Like what?" he took a look at one the books she'd chosen, seeing it was all about food and probably the reason why she'd discarded it at the end of the table.

"It was about the queen, Kaeya's mother," she started looking through the many papers and notes, "And I thought it was a bit strange so I jotted it down but now I can't really..." she lifted papers here and there to find the one she needed, even the Doctor trying to help.

"What's this?" he picked up a paper cut in half and skimmed a few lines.

"Hm?" Minerva looked up and saw the paper he held to her, "Oh that? That's just something I liked. It was about a linkage, right?" the Doctor looked at the paper again and nodded, "Yeah," she left her things and moved over to him, "It's this really weird thing but I don't know, I thought it was kinda sweet. When Moontsays marry they create a sort of linkage between them."

"Funny, Kaeya never mentioned that," the Doctor shrugged and set the paper down.

Though that could've been due to her avoidance of marriage conversations at all times after he'd been married off.

"Maybe because she never got married," Minerva shrugged, "I don't really understand it myself but from what I gathered the linkage's purpose is really only for a couple's future children. If one partner is injured or direly ill, through the linkage, can be healed from their partner's part of the link. A child needs both it's parents and the linkage is a way to help keep it that way."

"I bet that comes in handy," the Doctor said.

"Right, well, _this_ is why I need a book on the Royal Family because I read in...one of these..." Minerva eyed the mess on the table, "...that, at one point, the queen of the Monsoon was direly ill."

"Really?" he became suddenly concerned with the information, and he didn't really know why.

Well...yes he did. Kaeya loved her mother to pieces, even if they had petty arguments over her interest in the Moontsay's "enemy" the Time Lords. Kaeya had been an only child and never really got to establish any relationship with the Moontsays beyond princess-to-kingdom. That had always been one of Kaeya's dislikes about her life; the fact she never really could make friends. To her parents, a princess did not make friends with the commoners, for safety reasons not because of senseless superiority. They loved her, the Doctor knew that for a fact. They wanted their daughter to grow up into a fine, respectable woman that would one day take over the throne. So, Kaeya had been kept from 'friends' and really only had her family to talk to, primarily her mother. Although, now that the Doctor got to thinking, there was one other person Kaeya did mention once...but he couldn't remember.

"The queen was ill for various months," Minerva was reading off a paper she'd managed to find in the mess, "And everyone was pretty sure she was going to die...but she didn't," she stopped and lightly sighed, "She just...lived. But it's weird cause there's no explanation, no steps, no nothing as to _how_ she survived."

"That can't be right," the Doctor frowned, "No little pictures or anything?"

She shook her head, "No. There's nothing. So then I figured if we could figure out how the queen survived then maybe we could..."

"Use it and help Kaeya survive," he finished for her and she nodded.

"That's why I wanted a book on the Royal Family, _but_..." she cast a look up, "...a certain box of wonders refuses to show me a book about the Royal Family."

There was a response of a hum from certain box which made Minerva huff and cross her arms. The Doctor chuckled as she looked to the side in irritation, "I think I know what's going on here," he reached for her arm and tried pulling her towards him, "A certain box of wonders wants a certain clever girl to go to _sleep_."

"No," she rolled her eyes, "I feel just fine. I'm not sleepy."

"You've been in this room for hours, even Donna's fast asleep."

"You're not..."

"I'm not sleepy tonight."

"I can't help it," she sighed and looked at the books, "I keep thinking...seeing...the moment Kaeya died and I..." she put a hand over her chest as she felt a small ache, "...it makes me feel bad for her. I saw her life and it wasn't fair. What the Master did to her wasn't fair. She really needs us and I want to help. I can skip a night of sleep, that's fine."

The Doctor smiled fondly at her and finally pulled her towards him, his hand cupping her cheek, "You are the kindest woman in this world, do you know that?"

She smiled at his touch, leaning her face into his hand, "No...but it's nice to hear that... _why_ exactly am I the kindest?" she honestly questioned.

"Because of what you're doing here," he gestured to the table filled with her work, "When you have no obligation to do so. Because, you know what Kaeya was to me, you know what I am to her...and yet you're still here trying to help her.

"I guess I'm like you, I can't say no to someone who asks for help."

"My little hero," he gave her a gentle kiss.

"Why thank you," she blushed as he pulled away.

"No, thank you for being so... _you_ ," he Eskimo kissed her, their noses nuzzling together for a few seconds.

"Oh I love when you do that," Minerva giggled and draped her arms around his neck, "You're just like my teddy bear from China."

"But I can do something it can't," he smiled suggestively.

"Oh?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, letting him walk her up against a book shelf.

"I can give one hell of a snog," he smirked.

"Well, aren't we a little cocky today..." Minerva blushed as he brushed his lips over hers.

"Oi, you said you weren't sleep tonight...let me put it at test," he brushed his lips against hers.

"A challenge?" she raised an eyebrow, "Are you that desperate?" she chuckled.

"Oh just let me kiss you," he rolled his eyes and proceeded to snog his girlfriend.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! Hope everyone's had a nice week!

To begin with the little notes I wanted to say that I went ahead and began that one-shot/AU collection story with Minerva and the Doctor and it's currently up on my profile if anyone wants to check it out. Just saying...it contains a certain painter that a certain Martian does not like :)

Yes! Thank you! I always though Alex's eyes are blue so it's nice to know I wasn't completely wrong! That'll make it a bit tricky when it comes to describing 'River' in the stories but oh well :)

Yup, gotta have that Moontsay issues there or we'd have...actually I don't know what we'd have without it .-.

...it's nice to see you're not denying anything ;). But I guess we'll have to see how that life-and-death problem goes with the clever girl...will they be star crossed lovers and have adventures and be happy...or...not? *dramatic music in the background*

I actually feel very excited to think of Minerva/12 for some reason. While I can't see exactly how it would be just because it's way far ahead I can see some very funny quirks about them. But don't worry, if God allows and I finish with 11 then I'll most certainly got onto 12 :)

Thanks! I find it very hard not to give everything away but still give something to not keep it all a secret, but glad to hear some things were even in a subtle way! Yeah...I can see Sophia really not giving a crap what Minerva does, even if it's something truly fantastic. Wilf & Isadora make the team of best grands ever! Oh I love Rory the Roman! He's so adorable and yet so adamant about keeping his Amy all safe and whatnot. You description of Jack is so on track I just laughed ^.^ Don't worry, a semi-resolution is given at one point along the way. Can't give it so quick or the story would be boring lol.

I like your little song there, wonder how it'd finish, hmm ;). Don't worry, I purposely slowed down on the updates because I found my rapidness was catching up the story to my unedited chapters. So, I had to stop and slow down to give me enough time.

And, if anyone notices/cares, the new image cover was actually done by my little sister (so credits to her even if she's not on here) who actually has the patience to put all that crap together. I have a very thin patience where really if I can't get it right in under ten minutes I nearly throw my computer to the side. She did the format/color and I just added the little touch of colors lol I like coloring a lot ^.^

Thanks for your comments and see you next time :)


	5. Surprise, Surprise

"Where are we now?" Donna looked around a suburban street, quite peaceful with only a couple children playing on the lawns of their homes. The Doctor and Minerva walked beside her, hand in hand.

"San Diego, California," Minerva replied, "Otherwise known as my home, well, _second_ , my first home is with my Martian," she glanced at him.

"Right," Donna nodded, missing the pair's small moment, "And your parents live in the main city, your grandmother here."

She and Minerva had gotten to talking more and more about their families and Donna had expressed her interest in seeing the small town Minerva had grew up in. Minerva had also said she'd like to meet Donna's family but Donna said she just wasn't...ready. To Donna's mother, she was simply at a friend's house. Sylvia knew nothing of Donna's actual travels in time and space. So, Minerva had settled for showing Donna her hometown in the meantime they figured out Donna's family. Plus, there was another reason for coming back to San Diego today...

"My grandmother called and said she wanted to see me," Minerva explained the reason of their visit, "So naturally, I obeyed."

Minerva regretted all the time wasted avoiding her grandmother and wanted to take advantage of their time now. She didn't like to think about it but she knew there was no point in denying it, her grandmother was elderly and she could get ill and, well...die. So now, she was there any time Isadora called. The Doctor had even once offered to bring the elderly woman for a trip. He'd seen Minerva so ecstatic with the idea once he mentioned it he just had to keep it going and offered Isadora a trip to any place she wanted. The trio had ended up in the coronation of Queen Isabella II of Spain, finally getting there. The Doctor had let the grandmother and granddaughter bond during that trip, basking in the glowing joy of his clever girl to spend such a trip with her grandmother.

No more time being wasted, period.

The trio passed the Donovan's house, little Tamara seeing the familiar couple and hollering for them, "Minerva! Minerva! Doctor!" she ran up to the gate, her small hands trying to open the door.

"Hi Tamara," Minerva greeted, opening the gate for her and received the five year old's hug around her leg.

"Stacey's coming home! Stacey's coming home!" Tamara cheered, her brunette locks covering half her chocolate-brown eyes when she looked up.

"She is?" Minerva's eyes widened, her childhood friend was returning home!?

"I told her you came back home and she got really excited and said she wanted to come home and she said her vacation was coming up and she was gonna come home and-"

"She talks a lot just like you," the Doctor swooped up the kid into his arms, "Does Stacey talk a lot?'

"Oi!" Minerva frowned.

"That's rude," Tamara giggled, poking the Doctor's cheek.

"Right, can't be mean to my girlfriend. Sorry dear," he gave Minerva a small peck.

Donna chuckled at Tamara's distasteful faces due to the pair's lip contact. Tamara shook her head, "Yuck!"

"I used to say the same thing when I was your age, kid," Minerva ruffled her hair, "And then I met a certain man that just had the best kisses. He stole my first kiss! Literally!"

"Best decision I ever made," the Doctor shrugged.

He had often found himself thinking about that first moment where he'd literally taken a kiss from Minerva. What if he hadn't done that? What if he had done something different like kiss _Martha_ instead? As Tamara would say, yuck! Martha was beautiful no doubt, but... _Minerva_ was just stunning in comparison to other women. He really couldn't imagine kissing anyone else but her. And so, if he hadn't kissed Minerva in that hospital...would they have ever developed feelings for each other?

"So you gonna introduce me or what?" Donna stepped up, Tamara studying her with intent.

"Donna, I'd like you to meet Tamara Donovan, little sister of one of my closest childhood friends," Minerva gestured to the five year old, "She's a cutie-pie and quite fun!"

"I am very pretty," Tamara nodded innocently, making the trio laugh.

"Gonna get all the boys later, then?" Donna teased.

"I think she's already giving my Martian the eyes," Minerva added.

"No I don't!" Tamara stuck her tongue out, "Boys are ew!"

"I'm not ew," the Doctor frowned, "I'm amazing!"

"Boys have cooties."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do, _all_ boys have cooties. The only reason I let you hold me is because you have good candy!"

" _I_ don't have cooties," he repeated, "Just ask Minerva. I kiss her all the time and-"

"Doctor," Minerva scolded him, "Tamara doesn't need to know what we do in our time."

"Tamara?" Eliza Donovan called as she stepped onto her front porch.

"Right here Mommy!" Tamara waved a hand.

"Oh, what are you doing?" Eliza shook her head and walked down the front lawn, stopping in front of the trio, "John, I'm so sorry. She just loves being picked up all the time," she took Tamara into her arms, "Even though she knows she's too big," she gave Tamara a scolding look.

"John?" Donna cast a confused a look to the Doctor.

"Yes, Donna, John, Doctor John Smith," Minerva eyed her until she got the message that it was an established lie in the area.

Since the Doctor and Minerva had started coming around the town more often, Isadora's old neighbors started questioning who the tall man in the pinstripe suit was. Isadora, knowing just how curious her neighbors were, decided to go ahead and give them the Doctor's earth name to avoid any pestering questions.

"Mommy, I told Minerva Stacey was coming home," Tamara explained.

"Is that true, Mrs. Donovan?" Minerva asked hopefully, "Is she coming back?"

"Just for a small break," Mrs. Donovan replied, "She really wanted to see you."

"I would love to see Stacey again! You just call me when she's coming and I'll be here!"

"I sure will," Mrs. Donovan looked at Donna with curiosity.

The pair, since Martha had departed, had usually came alone to the town. There was only one blonde woman who occasionally dropped by, but Mrs. Donovan was called Astrid Peth. She knew for a fact the ginger lady had not been around yet.

"Oh, this is our friend, Donna Noble," Minerva said, "She's with us now."

"Hi, Eliza Donovan," Mrs. Donovan shook Donna's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Donna smiled.

"We'll be on our way, my grandmother called," Minerva explained.

"Oh, yes..."

Minerva noticed the change in her tone and face rather fast, "Is something wrong?"

"Um...uh," Mrs. Donovan looked around, clearly trying to avoid the answer, "You know what, we'll see you around. Tamara has homework to do, say goodbye Tamara."

"Bye!" Tamara waved, the trio waving back. Mrs. Donovan hurriedly went back to her house.

"I've gotta go to my grandmother's," Minerva dashed off, "Something's wrong!"

~ 0 ~

"Grandma! Grandma!" Minerva fiercely knocked on her grandmother's front door, "Open up, please!"

The Doctor and Donna were just making it into the front lawn of Isadora's house when Isadora herself opened up, nearly taking a knock on her face, "Oh! Minerva, calm down sweetie," she laughed as Minerva blinked with surprise.

"S-sorry..."

"What's with all the knocking?" Isadora asked, the Doctor shrugging for an apology, "Or pounding, I should say," Minerva remained quiet. Now that her grandmother had finally opened up and seemed alright, she didn't really know what to say, "Minerva? I asked a question," Isadora gave her a sharp look.

"Um...Mrs. Donovan..." Minerva pointed behind, "...she, um, she..." she took a deep breath, "Grandma, what's wrong?"

Isadora smiled broadly, but Minerva knew she was just doing it for her sake, "Why don't you come in," Isadora took her hand and walked her inside, "I see you've found a new friend, hi dear," Isadora turned to greet Donna, holding her hand out, "Isadora Lozano."

"Donna Noble," the ginger shook Isadora's hand.

"This is my grandmother, Donna," Minerva mumbled absently, her mind occupied thinking of anything that could be wrong.

"Now why the face?" Isadora turned to her granddaughter.

"Something is wrong and you are trying to hide it from me," she frowned, "Tell me."

"...it's your father," she spoke after a brief moment of pause.

"What's wrong with my dad?"

"Nothing, nothing is wrong right now," Isadora quickly assured, "He's been going to the doctor and so far, everything is fine."

"Wh-why has he been going to a doctor?" Minerva's frowned deepened, her heart beginning to pick up its speed with fear.

"He's been having some difficulty breathing but it's fine!" Isadora tried to keep her calmed but it was her _father_ she was talking about. No matter how much Minerva tried to keep it hidden, she would always love her parents and would always need them.

"It can't be fine if you called me for that," Minerva shook her head, "Tell me what's going on, please."

"There's nothing wrong right _now_ , but..."

Minerva awaited for the bloody answer but Isadora kept quiet, just looking at Minerva she knew she was going to become overly worried. Even the Doctor and Donna shared a concerned glance, both keeping silent as the tension built up.

"WELL?" Minerva stuttered, nearly trembling to get the answer. She had recalled Marisol's words about her father's issues and while it had made her upset in the beginning, she had started to believe that Marisol could've just been joking to mess with her. But now that she looked at her grandmother's face she knew that it was no joke.

"They think he could have Atherosclerosis..."

Minerva tilted her head, a moment in confusion, but she knew what that was, it was part of her anatomy class in high school, "N-no..." she stepped back.

"They _think_ , they're not sure yet," Isadora tried to clarify once more that her son-in-law could in fact be healthy, but Minerva shook her head...terrified beyond belief.

"He's-he's sick..." Minerva's eyes watered up, she stumbled back, "That's not true," she shook her head, "That can't be true..."

"Well, not yet, they're still not sure," Isadora glanced at the silent pair for help, mostly towards the Doctor seeing as he was now the only one who could cheer her granddaughter up.

The Doctor stepped to the brunette's side, putting a hand on her arm, "Minerva, maybe you should si-"

"Don't," she shook off his hand, "It's not true. My dad can't be sick. He's...he's my dad!"

He sighed, "But-"

"I said _don't!"_ she snapped, walking around the trio towards the door, "None of this can be true, it _can't_ be..."

"Minerva, where are you going?" Isadora called but she didn't reply, only the sound of the door being slammed shut coming as a response, "Well, that went well," she mumbled.

"Is it really that bad, though?" Donna asked, the reminder of her own father's passing flashing through her head. She didn't want that to happen to Minerva's father, she knew what it felt like to lose a father and...and she wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even her worst enemy.

"It just started a couple weeks ago, Nicolas said he was having some fatigue."

"But doesn't the man work twenty-four seven?" the Doctor reminded, a bit harsh even if he tried to suppress his irritation with Nicolas Souza for the suffering of Minerva.''

"He collapsed on the job, Doctor," Isadora announced, sadly, "He was in the middle of a case and..." she shrugged, "...just went down to the floor."

"Is he being treated?" Donna quickly questioned, perhaps if he did have something wrong he could receive the attention faster and be healed...or at least _controlled_.

"You can't exactly treat something that's not identified. But it shouldn't take long anymore, just a couple days and we'll have the results."

"Why are _you_ telling Minerva, though?" the Doctor turned to the elderly woman, "Why not Sophia? Nicolas himself?"

"Sophia is working all the time," Isadora sighed, "She's not there. Nicolas, he asked me _not_ to."

The Doctor paused a moment after hearing that, "I'm sorry...what?"

Isadora understood the shock as well, she herself stunned when Nicolas nearly pleaded her not to tell Minerva anything of his health. It had been the first time in _many_ years that the man had actually showed some emotion for anything.

"Nicolas asked me, begged me, not to tell Minerva anything. He...didn't want to worry her."

Donna looked between the two and tried lifting the mood up a little, "Well...isn't that good, then? Minerva told me all about her dad and how he just shut down. Isn't that good that he's actually caring for Minerva?"

"It's a bit sudden, don't you think?" the Doctor muttered.

"Better late than never," Donna countered.

"Look, I thought Minerva deserved to know what was going on here so she could visit Nicolas," Isadora explained, "I think it could do well to both of them. It's been four years, I think it's time for her to come home."

"A lonely home? Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I won't let it," the Doctor shook his head, determined to keep any more pain for his clever girl away from her.

"I'm not saying she has to _stay_ here, Doctor. But even you must admit it would do good for Minerva to see her parents and work everything out. Because you know, in a long shot, it would truly help her."

The Doctor opened his mouth to retaliate but he knew damn well that it _would_ help Minerva. So he sighed...because if it would help Minerva...

...then he would try to do everything in his power to make it happen.

~0~

Minerva sat on her grandmother's front porch, on the wooden bench against the wall...sniffling as tears streamed down her face. She heard the door open up, followed by a couple of foot steps, "Hey, I thought maybe you could use some tea or something," Donna stood in front of her.

"I prefer coffee," Minerva mumbled, her gaze locked down on her lap.

"Oh, guess I didn't know that huh?"

"Sorry, that was rude," Minerva shook her head, "But listen Donna, can I just be alone please?"

"But you don't really want that, do you?" Donna took a seat beside her, putting the tea on a small table beside her, "I know that's not what I wanted last year. When my dad died, my mum was a mess, she had to shut herself down for weeks. It just left my granddad and me. I kept telling him to leave me alone, leave my room, all I wanted to do was be alone..." she chuckled lightly, gazing ahead as she remembered those first dark days after losing her father, "...but my granddad, he never listened. He was there with me, helping me out," she turned to face Minerva, "That's what you're doing right now. And you better button it up cause I'm not leaving, not until the Doctor comes to take my place."

"Where is he?" she looked up, Donna smiling softly at the necessity of the spaceman the brunette had in her eyes. It was as if he could make everything better, and to Minerva, he probably could.

"He's inside, having a talk with Isadora. He was going to come out first but I said, 'oh no spaceman, you let _me_ try first," Donna shrugged, "So naturally, he obeyed and I came out."

"Without an argument?"

"I know how to keep them shut."

Minerva just smiled, "That's a first. I can't ever keep him quiet."

"Unless you snog him," Donna said absently, taking a second to realize what she had just said, "Which I will _not_ be doing anytime soon," she cringed, "Ever."

"Good to know," Minerva leaned her head on Donna's arm, falling silent for a minute, "Donna, how did it feel to lose your dad?"

"Mm, like...like a chunk of me went down to the ground with him," Donna sighed, "It's just not a good feeling at all. It's awful."

"Yeah, I figured...that's what I felt when Olivia died," Minerva said, "I don't want to lose my dad. I know we don't have a good relationship..." she paused and thought, "...okay, we have no relationship at all, but...he's my dad in the end. I love him, and...and I don't want anything bad to happen to him or my mom."

"Well listen, it's still early, there's a lot of things that can be done. Don't think about death, think about helping him right _now_."

"But he doesn't want to see me."

"How do you know that, eh?" Donna softly smiled, oh if only that brunette knew her father had begged for her not to know about this, "Ever given him a call?"

'Well, no...he doesn't want to speak to me."

"That sounds like excuses to me," Donna stood up, "C'mon, give him a call. You never know, that could help him a lot."

"Donna you don't understand, I haven't seen my parents in four years. I haven't spoken to my father in four years," Minerva looked up, her face stained with tears.

"Then end that! Come on, give him a call. I know he'll be delighted to hear his daughter's voice," she said with a knowing smile.

"No...I can't."

"Oh yes you can," the Doctor startled her as he walked out of the house, holding a landline telephone in his hand, "And I'm gonna be there until you hang up."

Minerva shook her head, "No."

The Doctor nodded to Donna, the ginger understanding he was gonna go for a try, "I'll take this inside," Donna picked up the tea cup and headed for the door.

"Please don't cry," the Doctor sighed, taking his seat where Donna had been, "I really hate when you cry."

"I'm telling you, I have enough water to fill up the Thames...twice!" Minerva sniffled, trying to turn away from him. She despised when he saw her cry so when she could move she always tried to give him her back.

But it wasn't as if the Doctor would have any of that.

"C'mon," he moved her back, managing to pull her onto his lap, "It's alright, you know. You don't have to hide from me, silly. I want to be here cause you need me, I need to be here."

When Minerva knew there was no more point in hiding, she took him as a comforter and snuggled to him, resting her head on his chest, "I don't want him to die, Martian. I don't!" she burst into fresh tears.

The Doctor held her closely and tight, cursing himself for not being able to do something to help her. He was the Doctor, he should be able to stop her from ever crying! What was wrong with him!?

"I already lost a sister, I can't handle losing my dad!"

"Why don't we give him a call?" he suggested, reaching for the phone beside them, "Find out what's really going on, yeah?"

"It can't be true," she sighed, sounding so defeated the Doctor desisted in his insistence for the moment, "My dad can't be sick. He's not supposed to be sick...he should _never_ be sick."

"Minerva, I know it's hard for you to accept that because you love him, he's your father but..."

"I have to accept reality," she finished, letting her head drop down, "I always talk about being realistic but right now I can't. When I picture my dad, I picture him working, being the amazing lawyer he is. Even if he hates me, I picture him fine and healthy. He can't be sick, _I'd_ rather be sick."

"Don't you dare," he warned her jokingly, managing to get a small smile from her.

"Now all I want to do is rush up to him and hug him, tell him I'm gonna be there for him all the time and-" she felt a poke on her arm and she looked to the side to the Doctor holding the phone again, "But he won't take my call," she whispered and pushed the phone away.

"Look, _Sophia_ is the one that has been making the calls. Nicolas hasn't done anything yet, maybe that's a sign that he regrets his actions. Plus...I have certain knowledge that he may care for you..." he had decided to ignore Nicolas's request of Minerva not knowing about his health.

The Doctor figured, after a talk with Isadora, that perhaps Nicolas was beginning to realize his mistake. Additionally, what he had just said was true. Nicolas, from what Minerva told him, never made harsh calls like Sophia did. The Doctor dared to believe that meant something else about Nicolas, he'd take this risk solely because it would make Minerva extremely happy to have her father again. And if it all turned out to be rubbish then he'd personally smack himself endlessly for putting Minerva through that pain.

"Let's find out," the Doctor waved the phone in front of Minerva, "And if he does want to see you, I'll bring you down to your house right after you hung up."

"And if he doesn't? If he doesn't want to see me? Doctor, that'll really break my heart. My dad could be dying and I won't be allowed to see him...just like Olivia," Minerva rubbed her eyes before they let water stream down, "Just another family member I won't be able to properly say goodbye to."

"But you don't know that. I don't know why but I get the feeling Nicolas isn't as bad as Sophia is. He shut down completely after Olivia died, but he never insulted you afterwards. I'm not calling him the dad of the year because I know he didn't treat you right either, but I'm just saying that perhaps, he's a better person now. C'mon, give him a call," the Doctor waved the phone once more with a small smile.

"Will you...will you stay with me?" Minerva hesitated in reaching for the phone until he answered.

"You can't make me leave," he smiled at her, "Now, shall we make a call to my in-law?" she giggled, reaching for the phone and missing him blush for what he said. He hadn't meant to...it had just slipped out!

"I'll call home, that's my best shot," Minerva started dialing on the phone, the Doctor intently watching. After a moment of ringing, Minerva looked up, a tad shy for some reason, "Do you mind if I place it on speaker? I would feel a lot better..." she trailed off.

"If it makes you feel better then go for it," he pressed a short kiss to her lips, "I'll be silent as the night."

"That'll be a first," Minerva mumbled, squealing when he jolted her, "Ah!" she looked at him with a mock-glare, the Doctor responding with a cheeky smile.

"Mrs. Lozano, what can I do for you?," the voice of Haley interrupted their moment.

"Um...hello," Minerva spoke highly quietly, "Hayley?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's, um, it's Minerva...Joy," Minerva corrected herself. In her house, by her mother's orders, she was to be called Joy even if Minerva repeatedly wished they didn't. That was just one right of her a taken away, the choice of her name.

"Miss Joy? Really!?"

"No, just Joy. Well, actually, I prefer Minerva. But listen, I was just phoning because I heard dad was sick."

"Who is that, Hayley?" Minerva's mother's voice called in the background.

Minerva looked at the Doctor, swallowing with fear. He rested a hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly, encouraging her to stay on the line despite of Sophia. She wasn't the one they needed anyways.

"It's Joy, Mrs. Souza," Hayley explained.

"Give me that, Joy!?" Sophia Souza half shouted, sounding very crossed, "Joycelyn I know you are there and if you don't want to speak then that's fine because I have something to say," there was a short pause where Minerva only had the chance to open her mouth for a retaliation when Sophia decided to speak again, "It's not enough to take my daughter, Olivia, away, now you wanna take my husband?"

"Wh-what?" Minerva croaked, the words just escaping in her mind.

She was trying to comprehend what on earth Sophia was talking about...it sounded...it sounded like Sophia was blaming _her_...

"Well I'm not gonna let you take him too! I want you home by tonight! Do you understand me? Because if you're not back, then I swear to you I _will_ find you and I will bring you back by the hair. Do I make myself clear?"

Minerva was just flatly _horrified_ at her mother's words. She was so cold, so harsh like none other. As angry as Sophia had been, she had never acted like _that_ before. Minerva couldn't find the words to reply with...but before she could raise the phone to her lips again, someone else took it from her hands.

"Sophia Souza, we haven't met before but I'm your daughter's boyfriend, oh let's call me John, why not," the Doctor shot Minerva a wink, the woman confused on what he was trying to do, "I would say it's a pleasure to finally speak to you but if I did that it would just make me a liar. I'll cut straight to the point, though, because I really just wanna hang up on you," his face darkened, his eyes narrowing as if Sophia was actually in front of them, "You don't _ever_ threaten my girlfriend. You don't ever get to lay a _finger_ on her and most certainly you don't get to blame her for someone else's misfortune. You may have gotten away with it during her childhood but she is not alone anymore. She has _me_ , and I warn you Sophia, I don't care if you're her mother or not, you hurt her, you make her shed a tear because of you and I _will_ make you regret it. Do _you_ understand _me_?"

Minerva stared with half her mouth open, not sure _what_ to think. The Doctor had just threatened her mother...he had just set her mother in place...

"I look forward to meeting you one day, _John_..." Sophia's sour tone responded before the line was cut off.

"Change of plans, we're no longer calling your house," the Doctor set the phone beside them, cursing himself for having the stupid idea to make the call, "We'll get your father's cellphone number."

He met Minerva's face with a rather cold expression for the first couple of seconds. He really was angry, his blood was physically boiling with rage at Sophia's out lash at the innocent woman on his lap. His mind was on red alert because he had to go make the person who hurt his clever girl pay for what they did. But...this was Minerva's _mother_ , like it or not...

...and that's why he softened after a minute or so.

"Minerva, I'm...I'm sorry," he sighed, looking down, expecting a blow from her after what he did, "But I can't stand it. I can't stand your mother. She does not get to yell at you like that, blame you. I can't just let her keep treating you like that just because she's your mother. She doesn't have the right to do-"

Minerva had pulled him, by the lapels, to her lips for a rather urgent passionate kiss. He was expecting some kind of yells or reprimands for what he did...but Minerva wasn't even an ounce angry with him.

Minerva's hands rested on the Doctor's face, parting and showing her teary eyes, "Thank you," she whispered, sniffling, "My mom thinks this is my fault too..." she bitterly laughed.

"With all due respect, your mother is crazy. It's not your fault," the Doctor informed quietly, watching some tears begin to stroll down from her eyes, "It's not your fault," he placed his hands on her cheeks and literally kissed her tears away on either side of her face, making her smile, "Repeat after me: It is not my fault."

"...it's not my fault," she mumbled, closing her eyes and smiling as he Eskimo kissed her.

"There we go, smiling like it should be," he placed a kiss on her nose.

As he moved to sit back, Minerva reached to cup his face again, "I like when you do that," she mumbled, her gaze on his lips, "But I like it better, and _feel_ better, when we actually _kiss_ ," the Doctor didn't get to make a comment on that when she had already begun kissing him.

Course he didn't need to speak to get his point across. He was in like with her, after all, and he liked to kiss her too. His arms moved around her, one around her waist and the other rested on her back, all focused on pulling her closer to him. She knew just how to get him melting in her arms and so when her hands flung to his hair, tugging on it until he growled against her lips, she was more than satisfied with herself.

She _loved_ that only _she_ could make him do that, only _she_ could get him to kiss like that, just _her_...

"There could be people around," her Martian murmured, beginning to move onto her neck, his newly discovered favorite place to kiss.

"Nah..." though Minerva did take a quick glance with her eyes just to be sure, and indeed no one was around, "...just us," her eyes fluttered closed at the sensation of trails of kisses the Doctor was leaving on her neck, following all around to the other side.

It was her new favorite place to be kissed too...

Not even the sound of a car driving by made them desist. They simply continued, getting more and more lost in the moment. It was quite easy to do so, Donna had already caught then several times snogging and she'd only been there for a couple of weeks so far.

However, there was one thing that did make them stop right now...

"Oi, is that my little niece!?" a man's voice called from the front gate.

The pair flinched at the new voice, Minerva glancing over her shoulder as her mind raced to match the voice with its rightful owner.

"Last time I remember she hated to even be kissed on the cheek!" the voice continued, trying to sound like a responsible adult.

"Uncle Aaron?" Minerva whispered, looking at the Doctor with wide eyes, a smile quickly forming, "Uncle Aaron!" she hopped off the Doctor's lap and ran to meet the man standing midway the front lawn.

Aaron Lozano laughed as he picked up his niece in a big hug, spinning her around, "Minnie mouse!"

"You're here! Oh my god, you're _here_!" Minerva laughed hysterically, encasing her uncle in a tight hug, not letting go despite being set on her feet, "Uncle Aaron, it's you!"

"Yeah, last time I checked I was still Aaron Lozano!"

"I missed you so much!" Minerva pulled back, getting a good look at her uncle, much like he was to her.

He still looked the same! He had his wavy blonde hair in the same fluffy manner, his chocolate brown eyes big as ever. He was tall, like my mother, and was a bit muscular. He was just the same, same as always, her uncle who understood her better than anyone in her family.

"Uh, well, you've gotten old," he remarked as he took Minerva in.

"Oi! I'm eighteen!" Minerva frowned, Aaron laughed.

"Right, eighteen and a full snogger now," he smirked.

"Oh, someone's been hanging out with Brits," Minerva snapped playfully, hoping to rid herself of her blush fairly fast. She glanced back, the Doctor standing at the porch and leaning against a the wall, "Come on, Martian!" she held out her hand, the man sheepishly coming to take it.

Her uncle had just witnessed them snogging, definitely _not_ the way to make a good impression.

"Doctor," Aaron whispered, sounding fascinated already, "Blimey, you look the exact _same_."

"Have we met?" the Doctor frowned.

"1969, you spoke _baby_ ," Aaron laughed at the memory.

"You remember that?" Minerva blinked, surprised that a two year old manage to remember a small moment like that.

"Snippets by mom and dad made sure to describe it to me in great detail," Aaron nodded and crossed his arms, a pointed look at Minerva, "And dad was very specific on the particular brunette who would not stop crying...because of him, right?"

Minerva sighed and nodded, "I couldn't help it," she leaned on the Doctor's arm, "The Doctor surprised me and I...I lost it."

"Well it was more of an accident that I found him," the Doctor admitted, remembering a feisty two year old trying to steal his banana.

"Right, sorry about that, stealing food was sort of my thing back then," Aaron chuckled as he also remembered that scenario.

"So then all this time you remembered..." Minerva said, working it out mentally as she spoke, "...you knew I'd end up traveling with this man, just like grandma did..."

"And dad," added Aaron, nodding, "It took us some time to figure it out but we did, eventually. Time travel, how else? We all knew you'd end up doing amazing things out in the stars."

"You kept that a secret from me?" Minerva pouted. After her bad life she had as a kid, it would've been really nice to know something as wonderful as the Doctor would show up to keep her moving.

"You know you're not very easy to find," Aaron said to the Doctor, leaving the pair confused for a second.

"You were looking for _me_?" the Doctor pointed to himself, " _I've_ been looking for _you_."

"Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to go out and see new places, but when my sister brought Minerva to us for the first time I started remembering a bit of 1969. I asked my parents who told me the entire story. Years ago they'd met a young woman on her birthday, claiming to be...Minerva Souza. They had no doubt the toddler was that woman," Aaron smiled as he gazed at his niece, seeing she was exactly the same as his parents had described her to be, "So then I started doing some research and stumbled across some sites with a recurring alien..." his smile turned into a smirk when he looked at the Doctor, "...whom, I was very shocked to find out, could changes faces. When I found a picture of your current face I showed it to my parents and they recognized you. You were the man that brought their future granddaughter to 1969."

"And you never said," Minerva huffed, still upset.

"I couldn't Minnie-mouse. I'm no time traveler but I was sure that if we were to say something it could change it and neither my parents nor me were having it. So, instead...I set out to find the man in the suit. Bit trickier than I thought it'd be but it did help me live my dream of traveling and find my career, photography!"

"You've been searching for me?" the Doctor still couldn't wrap his head around the idea, "Why?"

"To bring you here of course," Aaron nodded, "My niece had to meet you and I wanted to make sure she did. I was going to find you and bring you to her so you could take her away from this place."

"You did that for me?" Minerva whispered, her eyes becoming watery.

"Of course, I love you Minnie-mouse," Aaron ruffled her hair, "We all do."

"Except my mom and dad," she muttered, looking down.

"You know, I don't think I can talk the same way about Nicolas like I do with Sophia. More than anything, I think his heart has been tainted by Sophia. You can break through to him," he smiled encouragingly at her, but the brunette had fallen sad and silent again.

"C'mon clever girl, I know you can," the Doctor lifted her gaze with a finger under her chin. Aaron wasn't wrong about his brother-in-law...

"You think so?" she whispered, severely doubting she could actually have a real father at this point in her life.

"Shine your big, bright green eyes and sweet smile, you absolutely _cannot_ be denied anything like that."

"Speaking from experience?" Aaron teased, the Doctor heavily sighing while nodding.

"Your niece is just too incredible to deny," the Doctor looked at his clever girl with a smile, "She's amazing..."

"Not as much as you are," Minerva mumbled, getting on her toes to kiss him.

Aaron smiled softly at the pair. A responsible uncle would have pulled the two apart and kept apart and always had them on supervision. But _this_ was what he was waiting for, this is what he went in search of for all his life years. He may have been a toddler when he first met the Doctor, but even from that point he could remember the tall man with the banana had liked the girl with the pink dress. And as he grew up and saw Minerva live out her life in tears and pain with his sister, he knew that only that man, with the suit, could make her happy.

He was very right.

"Aaron? Thanks for the help, mate," another male voice called, with an English accent, "I mean, it's not like you pack _heavy_ or anything, no..."

The couple pulled away to see a younger man, possibly in his twenties, hauling three suitcases in his two hands. He was average height with black curly hair and brown eyes.

"Uncle Aaron, _really_?" Minerva eyed the suitcases, shaking her head.

"The man carries two suitcases for his Brazilian shirts," the young man mocked, "Then another one for his British pants. I mean, aren't pants just pants despite where they're from?"

Minerva chuckled, "I think they are."

The young man smiled at her, holding his hand out for her, "You must be the famous Minerva Souza, Aaron won't quit talking about you."

"Yikes, that must be annoying," Minerva reached out and shook his hand, "Sorry about that."

"I'll get him back for it later," he shook her hand back.

"Nice to meet you," she smiled and glanced up at the Doctor, seeing his less-than-pleased expression. He was jealous, just like that. She sighed and resolved to end it before anything even happened, "Cody, this is my amazing boyfriend," she gestured to her Martian.

"So you're the famous Doctor," Cody shook his hand, "Gotta say it's an honor to meet you."

The Doctor nodded, feeling slightly less paranoid with the man's words. Still...he was a man and Minerva was awfully beautiful. He couldn't shake the paranoia off completely...

Cody then glanced at Aaron, "So are you gonna go get the rest of those suitcases?"

"That's what I got an assistant for, buddy," Aaron patted his shoulder, "Cody and I are doing a photo sessions for a couple months so we'll be staying in the city. Though for today, I just want to stay with my mom."

"Momma's boy," Minerva teased.

"Shut up, I am your uncle and you will respect me," he wagged a finger.

Minerva rolled her eyes and took the Doctor's hand, "We're gonna go inside and inform them of your arrival."

"No, don't tell her, I want her to be surprised. Last time she heard I was in Brazil."

"Alright, but don't take too long with your suitcases," she warned, looking at Cody, :And if anything is too heavy, then you just chuck at him and come to meet my grandmother."

"What kind of advice is that?" Aaron frowned.

"Good," Cody laughed.

The pair turned around and headed back for the house, the Doctor gripping Minerva's hand unconsciously as his mind drifted to all the men that he had gotten jealous of since he started to fall for Minerva.

"Doctor, really, there's no reason to be jealous," Minerva said.

"Jealous? Who says I'm jealous!?"

"Please don't try to hide it, you're horrible at it," she pointed.

"I can't help it," he huffed, "I get paranoid, alright?"

"Doctor," she cleared her throat as she stepped closer, forcing him to stop at before he went up the stairs while she stood on the porch, for once being the same height, "Who was I just snogging five minutes ago? Hmm? All over my _neck_?" he looked to the side, however his blush was more than noticeable, "Now, I don't want anyone that isn't my Martian doing that," she draped her arms around his neck, "I really can't imagine it being someone else that's got his lips on mine. I just can't."

"Well let me tell you something, any man would give anything to be able to kiss you," he wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her closer.

"I highly doubt that," she mumbled.

"I mean it, you don't see the looks because you're a woman. There's some men out there that would gobble you up with one look. And I hate them, I hate all men...because they want what I want."

Minerva chuckled, seeing him pout, "You're so dramatic, Martian!" she pecked his lips, "C'mon, we've got to get my grandmother out here so she can see uncle Aaron," she pecked his lips once more but found herself locked into a much bigger kiss, one that she simply could not refuse.

~0~

Minerva absolutely loved seeing her grandmother's expression when she saw Aaron standing at the doorstep. The elderly lady had hugged him for a good five minutes, babbling on about how he was supposed to be in Brazil and whatnot. Aaron just laughed and explained to her his surprise and the job he and Cody were taking for the moment. Isadora had almost been indignant when he asked if he and Cody could stay until they found an apartment to room in. She was his son! By her choice, she would keep him forever in her house!

So the group had taken in the new visitors where Aaron was immediately asked, by a beaming Minerva, to tell them about his recent trips around the world. Minerva explained to the Doctor and Donna that whenever Aaron returned home while she was a kid, he would always tell her about his travels. She just loved to hear about the different cities that her planet had to offer. Now she supposed it was part of Aaron's ploy to get her "ready" for when he found the Doctor for her. She would be more than pleased to actually travel, and in _time_!

Minerva was still not over the fact that the whole point of her uncle's travels was because of _her_. He traveled to find the Doctor for her. Of course, like he said, he wanted to travel anyways, even as a kid. But, as he remembered Minerva from 1969, and saw the life she lived with her mother, he had an even bigger reason to start his travels.

Minerva would _always_ remember what he did for her.

Now, the group sat on the living room, Aaron telling them a story of his visit to Rio de Janeiro. Isadora sat beside him on the large couch, Cody to Aaron's left. The Doctor sat on a couch chair near Cody while Donna sat on another couch chair near Isadora. Minerva was returning from her trip to the kitchen, holding a tray of snicker doodles in her hands.

"Mmm, are those cookies I smell?" Aaron paused his story telling to take a long whiff of smell.

"Grandma made them," Minerva explained, setting them on the table.

"I had to make my Minerva feel better somehow," Isadora said, watching Minerva grow quiet as she reached for a cookie.

"Why? What's wrong?" Aaron frowned, also sensing the quick change of attitude from his niece.

Minerva shook her head and walked to the Doctor, taking a seat on his lap for comfort, "My dad is sick," she whispered.

"Nicolas? But the man was always in perfect condition!" Aaron looked to his mother for more explanation.

"They're running tests on him, but for now they just think it's Atherosclerosis," Isadora explained, staring at her granddaughter with sadness.

She didn't even mind that Minerva was currently on a man's lap. She knew how the Doctor made her feel. Whenever Minerva cried, he was there in a heartbeat to make her feel better, and it always worked. She didn't want to admit it, but...she trusted the Doctor with her granddaughter more than she ever would with Sophia, her own _daughter_ , and _mother_ of Minerva. Isadora was glad that, even when she passed away, she would go in peace because there would be someone apart from her son to take care of Minerva.

"But we're all hoping for the best," the Doctor ran a few fingers down and up Minerva's arm, feeling her tense as she silently thought, probably already blaming herself for her father's oncoming illness.

The pair hadn't mentioned what Sophia had said to Minerva when they had called. The Doctor wanted to tell Isadora just how big of a monster her daughter was...but Minerva didn't want to. She didn't want to upset her grandmother and much less cause _her_ to get sick too. So, the Doctor bit his tongue and kept his mouth shut about it, as much as it pained him. He absolutely despised Sophia, he wanted everyone to see who she really was. Absolutely no one could hurt Minerva, not even her mother would be an exception. Minerva was first on everything.

"So, um...Brazil?" Donna turned on her seat to Aaron, hoping to help with Minerva's growing silence, "Rio de Janeiro?"

"Yes, yes, it's lovely right now!" Aaron quickly caught on and continued with his story, "The Carnival is just amazing! Have you ever gone there?" he looked at the pair.

Minerva bit into her cookie, shaking her head without saying a word. The Doctor sighed and answered for her, "No, but I want to bring Minerva there. I think she would love it, right?" he smiled at her, hoping to get just a small one out at least.

"I guess..." she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders.

"I think it would be a good idea," Cody cut in, disliking the way the woman had just shut down all of a sudden. From what Aaron would tell him, the woman was always talking, even as a child, "It's very lively and exciting."

"And the beach? How's the beach?" Donna asked, actually into the idea of visiting Rio de Janeiro, "I always heard they were amazing!"

"Not as best as Acapulco," chipped in Isadora, "Now there's a beach! Absolutely incredible!" she reached for a snicker doodle and munched on one.

"I've got pictures..." Aaron watched Minerva, "...if you want to see some, Minnie-Mouse," he smiled, hoping his nickname he had appropriated for her a toddler would get her to smile.

Minerva shook her head, putting her half-eaten cookie on the table and standing to her feet, "No thank you. I think I need some time to myself. I'll be in my room."

She turned away and walked off, the Doctor almost swearing he had heard her sniffling. She was clearly still upset of her mother's words.

The Doctor stood up and watched after her, "I think I'm going to go talk to her."

"She seems worse than earlier," Donna remarked, "I thought calling her father would make it better."

"Minerva called home?" Isadora blinked, "How'd you manage that?"

"Through hard work," the Doctor sighed, turning to the group.

"What did Nicolas say?"

The Doctor looked around, everyone picking up that something wrong had happened.

" _Who_ answered?" Aaron raised an eyebrow, half guessing the answer.

"Her mother did, didn't she?" Donna asked.

The Doctor didn't want to tell them what Minerva specifically asked him not to, but in this case Donna and Aaron had already figured it out.

"What did that monster say!?" Aaron demanded.

"Aaron!" Isadora scolded.

"What? I'm not going to lie and say my sister is an angel because we all know she's not! She's horrible and I don't understand why! You were such a good mom to us, and even if I don't see myself with my own children I know for a damn fact that I would _never_ treat my children the way Sophia treated Minerva."

Isadora sighed and looked to the side. As much as she couldn't defend Sophia, she was still her _daughter_ and it still _hurt_ to know how bad of a person she turned out to be.

"Doctor," Aaron refocused on the man, "What did my sister say?"

"Let's just say...they disagreed," the Doctor offered, really not wanting to repeat Sophia's words, "Words were said and it didn't help, alright?"

"The relationship between Minerva's parents and hers isn't okay?" Cody asked, though he knew it was a stupid question to ask based off on what Aaron had told him.

"That's a delicate way of putting it," the Doctor muttered, "Look, I gotta go talk to her," he turned and headed for Minerva's room.

"Wait," Cody stopped him, the Doctor turning to see the man on his feet, "Maybe...maybe _I_ can talk to her."

"Excuse me?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow. He already had a certain dislike for Cody just because he was a man and could potentially take Minerva away and now he was asking for him to let he, a stranger, talk to Minerva?

"I don't share a good relationship with my own parents," Cody explained, understanding the Doctor and his surprise. He was a stranger and Minerva had a boyfriend, it could be taken in a different way, "I left home as soon as I turned eighteen.I barely speak to them now and I'm twenty-five. I think I understand Minerva on some level. Can you let me try?"

Well, of course the Doctor's mind screamed 'NO'.

"Yes," the Doctor stepped aside. Cody nodded his thanks and went after Minerva.

"That was awfully big of you," Donna remarked.

Just by the couple weeks she had spent with the pair in the TARDIS she knew the Doctor was very prone of getting jealous of practically any man that wasn't related to Minerva.

"If it helps Minerva, then I'll do anything," was the Doctor's simple reply as he plopped down on his chair.

~0~

Minerva was sitting on the foot of her bed, sniffling to herself as quietly as possible. Now, apart from the news of her father possibly being sick, she had to deal with the new blame being appropriated on her.

How could her mother be so cruel?

That was a question she would _always_ ask herself until she died. As far as she could remember, her mother had never showed an ounce of love towards her...and she never knew why. It always led her to ask herself why did her mother choose to birth her if she was only going to suffer. If they had Olivia, the preferred, actually loved, daughter, why bring in a left over like herself?

"Knock, knock," she heard Cody's voice followed by two promptly knocks on the door.

"Cody?" she glanced back, confused. She expected the Doctor to be at the door, and she admitted she _wanted_ him to follow after her so he could comfort her the way he always did.

"I know, I know," Cody walked in, smiling awkwardly, "Probably not the guy you expected, right?"

"Truthfully, yeah," Minerva nodded, glancing behind him in case the Doctor entered.

"I asked the Doctor if I could talk to you first," Cody explained, Minerva's head snapping to him, "I told him I understood what you're going through."

"You...you do?"

"You think your mum and dad don't really love you?" he tried, Minerva nodding silently, "You feel like you're never worthy of their love or them?" again, she nodded, "And you feel like no matter what you, you will _never_ be the daughter they want you to be...or in my case, a son," he sat down beside her, Minerva staring at him with so much shock that it made him chuckle, "That's my life, Minerva."

"I'm...I'm sorry," she said, her head turning down as she fiddled with her fingers on her lap.

"Yeah, I left home when I turned eighteen, right on my birthday."

"Hm, I left when I was fourteen," she confessed, now Cody was utterly shocked. She smiled a little, still keeping her gaze down, "Emancipation."

"Wow, you win," he mumbled, "...ever since I was a kid, I just remember the arguments and lectures my parents would give me."

"Same here," Minerva whispered, wiping some tears off her face.

"They wanted me to be an architect, like my dad, all my life...so when I finally decided what I wanted to be, a photographer...they were less than happy."

Minerva looked up, softly speaking, "Same here. They wanted me to be a lawyer."

"And what did you want to be?"

"No idea," she shrugged, Cody taking a look around her room and seeing the many pictures plastered on the walls.

"Perhaps an artist?" he stood up and went over to a pin board, "Mind you, these are really good."

"Thanks. My mother thought it was a waste of time," Minerva sighed, "She even ripped some up when I was a kid."

"Yeah, my dad broke my camera. It was the first camera I bought with my own money," he shook his head, "Never forgave him for that."

"Do you still talk to them?"

"No, it's been seven years and I don't ever plan on speaking to them again," he turned around, "How long has it been for you?"

"Four years..."

"You're on your way," he sighed, leaning back on the desk.

"What do you do when...when the words of your parents strike you so hard?" she asked, her eyes welling up quick. If he went through the same thing she was going through, then he had to have some way to make the pain just go away.

"Nothing...there's nothing I did that... _ever_ made it okay..." Cody admitted, "...your parents are supposed to love you if you're good. I know I had my fair share of tantrums, but...I don't think it was enough to garner their hatred. I'm their only son, they're supposed to completely spoil me!" he wanted to get her to smile but he utterly failed. He imagined her boyfriend could probably do a much better job at this.

"My mom blames me for my sister's death," Minerva announced, Cody nodding as he already knew that from Aaron but decided not to interrupt and let her speak, "And now...now she's blaming me for my dad's sickness," she starting crying, "And it's not fair!"

"It's okay, it's okay!" he quickly rushed to her side, hugging her as she cried.

"Did they blame you for something like that?"

"Not really...like I said, you utterly win," he sighed.

"What do you do? What do you do to stop all these feelings?" she nearly pleaded for an answer, looking up with a face stained of tears, "Because I'm tired of living like this. The Doctor, he tries to help but...it's not the same. He can't understand me, and...my friend, Donna, the ginger, she can understand but she doesn't have a solution for it either."

"I do what I like to do best. I take photographs. I suppose you can do your pictures. It'll help you remember that they can't tell you who you need to be, an architect, a lawyer...you're Minerva, an artist. Or, a traveler. Whichever you want to be. You just be Minerva."

Minerva stopped her crying, only sniffling as she took long breaths, "Be Minerva?"

"Be Minerva."

"That's a little hard seeing as I come from my dad and mom..."

"So do I," he reminded, "But, just try little by little to make your own life. Don't worry what your mother or father think of you because I bet there's one person you care for more, even above your parents..." he gave her a knowing smile.

She smiled back, wiping her tears off, "My boyfriend."

Cody noticed the immediate shift of emotions from Minerva just by the mention of the man, "Because you know, the way it works, you're supposed to find someone to care for above your parents, above anyone else. That one person you choose to trust with your whole life, the person you decide to marry, to live with, have children with. Because one day, your parents aren't going to be here anymore and it'll just be you. When that happens, because like it or not, it _will_ , it's not going to be so bad because there'll be the man you chose to spend your life with at your side."

Minerva nodded, smiling sadly to herself. Unfortunately for her, while the Doctor _could_ be at her side when she grew older, it wouldn't be the way she wanted it to be. She couldn't have his children, she couldn't exactly marry him either in a proper, _human_ way (the one where they both grew older as was expected). And, she doubted they could even have a romantic relationship in the future. When Kaeya returned, and if the Doctor chose to still be with her, a human, Minerva wouldn't want to be in one with him when she aged. He would be young, well _look_ young, and she would be older. She didn't want to have him tied down to her when she was sixty; an old, wrinkled woman. She couldn't...and she wouldn't.

So, when her parents died, yes the Doctor would be with her...but as a _friend_. Of course, it'd be the friend she wished she could have as a husband...but it would never happen. That was one part of their relationship that was never really talked about. It was like they were both trying to avoid the inevitable pain they would suffer. Minerva knew she wouldn't want to let go of the Doctor when the time came, when she aged noticeably. She knew that the Doctor, being who he was, would tell her to go and find someone that she "actually deserved". That she should marry a man who could give her the life he couldn't. She couldn't fathom the idea of actually walking down the aisle in a white dress if the Doctor wasn't the one waiting for her at the end of the aisle. She had already made up that decision a long time ago.

If she couldn't have the Doctor, she wouldn't have anyone.

She would rather die single, unmarried.

And she was resigned to it. Because, what she lived now was a fantasy, yes, but it was the most wonderful fantasy she could ever live. She liked to think of it as one of those star-crossed relationships that were on television shows. But hers didn't compare to the silly ones in the shows. Hers was even better. She loved this fantasy and she would hang onto it until the very last moment.

So, when her parents died, she _would_ be alone and unmarried. But she would be happy that she got to live the life _she_ wanted to and not the one her parents would've chosen for her.

"I wouldn't worry too much of what your mother says," Cody continued, oblivious to her thoughts, "I'd just draw and draw."

"Thanks Cody," Minerva sighed, "You're not that bad at this talking thing. You've done it before?"

"No, my first try," he chuckled.

"You should be some kind of therapist," if he only knew how much he had just made her think right now.

"Mm, I prefer photography. But you know, just for you, I'll be a therapist," he said, she raising an eyebrow in confusion, "I know we barely know each other, but it looks like I'll be in the city for some time. Anytime you want to talk, I'm here."

"Thank you," she gave a small smile, "Maybe I can get Donna to join us for a little support group."

"That would be nice," he shrugged casually, both of them chuckling afterwards.

"Thank you so much, Cody," she gave him a hug and closed her eyes, hoping they'd dry up before she returned to her Martian.

"You're welcome," Cody rubbed her back, feeling quite content with himself he'd managed to make her happy once more.

The two were so engulfed with their hug to notice the Doctor standing by the doorway, watching them in a sad manner. He could feel his hearts nearly stopping, nearly breaking at the sight. But he wasn't mad...his clever girl had stopped crying, and so quick. He'd only come to see what progress Cody had been making. Apparently, it had been good.

He turned and walked away, the ache of heartbreak taking over his body. He didn't want to admit it but...if there was any man that could possibly make Minerva happy...he'd probably choose Cody. Just with five minutes, Minerva was smiling again and so... _close_ to another man. Cody was young, by the looks of it fun, he traveled just like Minerva loved to do...

He would be perfect.

There were times where the Doctor thought that he and Minerva were just living some star-crossed fantasy story, just like Donna had once mentioned. He and Minerva were two very different people, of different _species_! But he really fell for her, he couldn't imagine her not with him, in the TARDIS, next stop everywhere. He would love to have that for centuries more.

He knew he should back away, let Cody win Minerva's heart, give her what he himself couldn't. Minerva deserved someone who stay with her forever in a human way, someone who could give her a family. He just knew she would make a tremendous mother. And he could see it, he could picture her with a couple of little toddlers. The little girls having her long, beautiful brown hair and being the little princesses Minerva had been as a child. The boys would be just as adventurous as she was, sassy as she was, always having remarks for everything.

And the thing that broke the Doctor's hearts was that he saw them as _their_ children. The children he wished they could have in some future. He couldn't see her with anyone else...

So what was he supposed to do?

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello!

Hope everyone's had a good week so far. I know I have, though it has more to do with the fact I'm almost finished with summer school so hoorah for that!

Ah yes, another original chapter. Heads up, this story will include a lot more original chapters than the last one. So don't be surprised when another pops up soon.

So, we finally met that famous uncle and got to know what he'd been up to. He's so sweet! n/n

Thank you! This episode was always so sad for me, every time I watch it, it just makes me want to cry . I obeyed, I updated!

Don't worry! :o You can always catch up on the updates lol. You have like a 6-7 day-span to do so. I told you there was going to be a lot of more of catching up in terms of flirtation after a year wasted ;). The daughter you say...yes...it's coming ha :)

Thank you! I'm happy to know you love my stories so far! I'll try and keep up my work then ^.^

Overriding existence? Hm, never actually thought of it in those precise words but good eye! Omg no I haven't watched it but I recognized the name as one of the shows my sister watches so I asked her about it and now I totally get your reference! It's actually a bit weird how it's similar to this story. I mean, the only anime I've ever seen is Sailor Moon and even that was a bit of inspiration for me. Choose Minerva or Kaeya, hm...sorry but my lips are sealed on whether or not it'll come to that. So sorry! ;)

As usual, thank you very much for reading and leaving thoughts. hope to see what you thought of this chapter as well :)


	6. Friends of the Ood

"Afraid you're gonna lose, Minerva?" Donna taunted as she did several laps in the swimming pool of the TARDIS, "I'm just asking for one little race."

Minerva just smiled and watched her ginger friend swim around the large pool. The two had taken for a relaxing swim before going on Donna's first alien planet. Minerva had been talking about the pool earlier and Donna wanted to give it a go. So, Minerva brought the ginger to the wardrobe and plucked out two bathing suits to get into the pool.

Donna wore a one-piece, lavender bathing suit with thin straps going criss-cross on her back. Minerva chose a white one-suit, not feeling quite secure in a bikini for some reason. It had deep cut-outs on either side, a gold circular pendant binding the bust and the abdominal pieces together.

But while Donna was taking some swims, Minerva was sitting on on the floor, her feet dangling below in the water. Her hair was left down to its natural length and the clip she was supposed to be using to be _in_ the pool was right beside her.

"C'mon!" Donna called again, swimming towards her.

The Doctor walked in, having heard Donna's constant calls for his clever girl, "What's going on?"

"Minerva doesn't wanna race with me," Donna rested her arms on the floor, beside Minerva, "I told her I'd go easy on her."

The Doctor bent down beside Minerva, "You haven't told her?"

Minerva smiled with embarrassment, "Nope..."

"Told me what?" Donna looked between them, a frown growing on her.

"Minerva's an excellent swimmer," the Doctor declared, "She used to be on a swim team as a kid."

"Wow, and you didn't say?" Donna asked Minerva, "All this time you could've easily won a round with me!"

"I didn't want to..." Minerva shrugged.

"Well c'mon then," Donna grabbed her hand, "Do one round with me. I want to see how fast you are!"

"No, let's not," Minerva tried to pull back.

"Oh go on," the Doctor encouraged, "You'll be excellent as usual," he kissed her cheek.

Minerva smiled, sighing as she reached for the clip, "Alright, then. I'm coming in."

"Hooray!" Donna clapped and swam around them.

"Let me," the Doctor took the clip from Minerva.

"You know how?" she teased, "Just twist and snap."

"Ha, ha, I think I can manage to do some hair."

"Yeah, figures since you take two hours each day," she mumbled.

"Oi!" he frowned, "I do not take two hours."

She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow, "Three?"

"Minerva," he mumbled, raising her hair as she instructed and snapping the clip to hold her hair.

"Yes Martian?" she shifted to peck his lips.

"Nothing..." he sighed, the kiss was enough to shut him down, even if it was just a simple peck.

"Good," she patted his cheek, kissing him again more deeply before jumping into the pool, "Donna Noble, you better get ready!"

"Oh, a challenge," Donna returned to them, both having their hand on the edge, "Do the honors, spaceman!"

"On your marks..." the Doctor stood to his feet, still a bit hazed from Minerva, "...get set...go!"

Both women pushed themselves with their feet, swimming ever so fast. The Doctor beamed when Minerva started getting ahead, oh she was just amazing at swimming! He actually hadn't seen that well of a swimmer since...

He shook his head, not wanting to finish that thought. He knew exactly who Minerva reminded him of as a swimmer. There was only one person who swam as fast as she did...Kaeya. Granted, it was expected from the princess as she was a species of water. As much as the Doctor didn't want to think of it, Minerva did share that similarity in rather high levels. Minerva was incredibly fast, could stay underwater for a long time past any human he'd ever seen, and was skillful like no other. He thought she was rather lovely as a swimmer and always tried pushing away the similarity as best as he could. It wasn't fair to Minerva, nor Kaeya. He should just focus on Minerva and only her. And that's what he tried with great struggle, but still tried.

"Oi, you're too fast!" Donna complained as she stopped midway, Minerva already making her return trip back to the Doctor.

"Sorry!" she called, making the ginger laugh.

"Minerva wins!" the Doctor declared, finally out of those thoughts of his. He bent down with a grin, "My clever girl wins."

"Thank you Martian," she grinned back, "What's my prize?"

"A kiss from a Martian," he tapped his lips.

"Ew, thank god I didn't win," Donna muttered as she returned as well.

"Mm, I'd rather get a kiss from a human," Minerva taunted.

Immediately, the Doctor thought back to Cody. Ever since they had left Isadora's house, he'd been having more and more thoughts of Minerva and Cody actually getting together. He'd been having some nightmares about it too. The kind where Minerva openly and flat out said she preferred Cody over him any day...and then she left, forever.

It was hard to ignore them, but he did...because he came to the conclusion that he didn't want to give Minerva up. Yes, it was probably selfish but he was doing it out of lo...

He was doing it because he was in like with her. Yes. That's what he meant to say. He didn't want to give her up because he knew for a fact that only _he_ could make her the happiest woman in the universe, despite all their differences and struggles.

"I'm just messing with you, Martian!" Minerva laughed, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Of course I'd want a kiss from my big, hot Martian," she leaned over and pecked his lips.

He faintly smiled, "Thank you," he mumbled.

"Well, I'm gonna go shower," Donna stepped out of the pool and wrapped her towel around her body, "You two behave," she wagged a finger at the pair.

"You're ever so funny, Donna," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "But you should know that you really are not."

"Uh-oh," Minerva swam back a few feet.

The Doctor only had the chance to mutter out two words, "Uh-oh what?" before he was pushed into the pool.

Donna busted out laughing, nearly falling back with so much laughter she had pouring out, "Oh my god!"

The Doctor shook his head, looking at himself and seeing he was soaking wet. He was still in his suit with shoes on, "That wasn't funny!"

"I thought it was," Donna shook her head, still not over it.

"Next stop, Donna Noble's home!" he shouted, completely outraged.

"Yikes," Donna stopped laughing almost immediately, "Minerva, I leave that up to your charms cause I really don't want to go home! Bye!" she quickly rushed off, smirking when she got a glimpse before leaving of Minerva swimming over to the spaceman.

"She is going home right now! I'm not even gonna land, nope! I'm gonna chuck her out from the sky!" the Doctor was rambling in his fury, "And no para-shoot either! She'll just have to wing it! Then I'll throw all her suitcases out and-"

"Woah there Martian," Minerva was now in front of him, her hands on his chest, "Don't you think you're overreacting just a bit?"

"I'm all wet and in my suit, Minerva, look," he reached inside his jacket's pocket and took out his screwdriver, "It's wet too!" his frown turned into a pout, "That's not fair!"

She laughed, "You're so cute sometimes!" she took his screwdriver and threw it to the floor.

" _Sometimes_?" and then his pout reverted to a frown, suddenly his soaked appearance not a big problem.

"You can't be cute all the time," she shrugged calmly, "Sometimes you have to be a bit hot," she supplied, leaning up to his ear, "And sometimes you have to be a bit sexy," she smirked as she faced him again, the pink tint on his cheeks more than satisfying, "But right now, you look really adorable with your hair all floppy and wet," she laughed as she ruffled through it.

"She is _so_ going home..." he managed to say, her little compliments plus having her right in front of him, where she was practically little clothed a bit distracting...just a bit.

"What can I do to change your mind?" she asked seriously, though the faint smile letting her know he really wasn't going to send Donna home, "I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

She nodded, "Anything, I'm at your service Martian."

"I want a kiss right here," he tapped his lips. She nodded and pecked his lips, "And another one," he tapped again and he was kissed again, "And another," he was kissed again, "Another," this time he grabbed her by the waist, his hearts racing as his fingers brushed on her exposed sides.

Minerva had chills going around her body at the sensation of his fingers on her skin, "And then?" she mumbled, doing her best to focus on his face entirely.

"And then I want a big kiss," he smiled.

"With pleasure," she draped her arms around his neck and tugged herself closer, chest-to-chest, "But for the record I was already planning on doing this anyways," she said before kissing him.

And so, the Doctor forgot all about Donna and her little stunt. The only thing on his mind was his clever girl who kissed so sweet and soft.

~0~

The TARDIS was currently jostling its three passengers all around, all aboard for their newest trip. The Doctor and Minerva were finally granting Donna her first alien planet trip which had the ginger beaming here and there.

"Set the controls to random! Mystery tour," the Doctor explained as the box came to a halt, "Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, any when in the whole wide- are you all right?" he paused when he saw Donna blinking and looking around.

"Terrified. I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet..." the ginger breathed.

"I know," Minerva grinned, "Each time I go to a new one it's just so wonderful! Though I have to say my favorite one is Planet Sto, Astrid took me to all the shops they had."

"Can we go there next?" Donna asked, quite serious. She was never one for shopping but an _alien_ shopping spree didn't sound too bad.

"How about we get through this one first?" the Doctor offered, nodding for the doors where their secret trip awaited them. Donna beamed and nodded fairly fast, "I know what it's like - everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder - I get that!"

"Seriously? After all this time?" Donna asked, a bit surprised.

"Well, now it's even _more_ wonderful because I got my clever girl with me," he wound an arm around Minerva's waist, tugging her closer.

Donna rolled her eyes, "Don't start you two," she warned and headed for the doors, "Oh! All right, then, you and me both! This is barmy!" the pair followed, the Doctor stopping for his coat on a rail, "I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is- I mean, it's- I dunno. It's all so- I don't even know what the word is!" Donna opened the door and stepped out into a rather cold snowy environment, "Oh, I've got the word. " _Freezing_ ," she frowned.

The Doctor stepped out and helped Minerva, taking a quick scan of the place, "Snow! Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last!" although deep down, the Doctor worried over the climate for a certain clever gil.

"I think we deserve real snow," Minerva nodded, no one catching a quick flash of blue her eyes gave as she looked up to the blue sky. She started to shiver as the seconds went by but she didn't want to leave, the place was amazing!

"What do you think?" the Doctor looked at Donna.

"Bit cold," she shivered, hugging herself.

"Look at the view!" Minerva exclaimed, trying to run forwards, but the snow making it a struggle.

"Yep. A beautiful... cold view," Donna called.

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies and we're on this one. Molto bene! Belissimo! Says Donna, born in Chiswick. You've had a life of work and sleep," the Doctor caught up with Minerva, snatching her by the waist, suppressing a laugh at her surprised squeal of his arms, "And the telly and rent," he continued, hugging her to provide some heat for her, "Takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?"

Crickets.

The pair turned around and saw they were short one ginger.

"Hey, Donna?" Minerva called.

The ginger reappeared from the box of wonders wearing a warm coat with a fur-lined hood, carrying a blue coat in her arm, "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Better?" the Doctor smiled.

"Lovely, thanks."

"Comfy?"

"Yep."

Minerva tilted her head, studying the ginger for a second, "Can you hear anything inside that?"

"Pardon?" she leaned forwards, making Minerva laugh, "Oh, here," she handed Minerva the blue coat.

"Oh thanks!" Minerva took the coat and started putting it on.

"Minerva, we can go back..." the Doctor began but was soon cut off with a hand over his mouth.

"No, I don't want to go. It's lovely and I want to explore," she declared.

The sound of a rocket flying over made the trio look up, Donna gaping at the sight, "A rocket. Blimey, a real, proper rocket. Now that's what I call a spaceship," she slapped the Doctor on the arm, "You've got a box - he's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where it's going," she trudged ahead, the Doctor pouting and glancing back at the TARDIS,

Minerva, now dressed in the double-breasted, closed, blue coat, giggled and turned his head back, " _I_ love your box of wonders."

"Really?"

She nodded, her fingers reaching further around his face and pulling him down, "So much," she murmured before kissing him.

"OI!" Donna called back, not about to let a snog session ruin her chances to see about that rocket.

The pair pulled apart with smiles at each other, Donna's call not even perturbing them. The Doctor put an arm around Minerva's waist and headed after the ginger.

"Perhaps we should really go back..." he repeated, not to pleased with her wanting to stay. This was her health after all, they shouldn't risk it.

"Don't you dare," was Minerva's only words on the topic.

~0~

The trio were walking in the direction of the rocket when the Doctor stopping, his head turning as he heard ethereal music, "Hold on-can you hear that?" he asked, "Donna, take your hood down."

The ginger pulled down her hood, "What?"

"That noise-it's like a song..."

Minerva frowned as she heard something _extremely_ faint, very very faint, "I think...no," she shook her head. She must be dreaming, her head hadn't cleared from her mother's words and her father's pending illness.

"Over there!" the Doctor broke into a run in a different direction.

Then again, if the Doctor had heard it...

After a short run, they found the body of an alien half buried in the snow, an Ood.

"What is it?" Donna asked, she and Minerva kneeling by the body.

"An Ood. He's called an Ood," the Doctor answered, kneeling as well and pulling out a stethoscope.

"The human's servants?" Minerva frowned as she recalled the story the Doctor had told her when he and Rose had met "the devil". As much as she believed in the spirits, that one was just creepy to her.

"Yup," the Doctor mumbled, the rise of guilt flashing in his mind when he remembered the Ood that had died last time he saw them...thanks to him.

"But its face..." Donna said, a bit horrified at the appearance of the alien.

"Donna, not now. It's a "he", not an "it". Give us a hand," the Doctor gestured for her to kneel on the other side.

"Sorry."

The Doctor moved the stethoscope around the Ood's chest, "I don't know where the heart is. I don't know if he's got a heart. Talk to him. Keep him going."

"What's your name?" Minerva asked softly.

"Designated Ood Delta 50."

Donna, seeing how the Ood's translator ball lit up when it spoke, picked it up and spoke into it, "My name's Donna. That's Minerva."

"No, no, no, no. You don't need to," the Doctor motioned for her to put down the ball.

"Sorry. Oh, God- this is the Doctor. Just what you need - a doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"

"You've been shot," the Doctor blinked at the injury the Ood bore on its abdominal.

"Who would shoot an Ood?" Minerva frowned, "I thought you said they were peaceful..."

"They _are_ ," the Doctor confirmed. Minerva made a good point, if the Ood were peaceful beings...why would they need to be shot?

The Ood struggled to speak out, "The circle-"

"No, don't try to talk," Donna tried shushing it.

"The circle must be broken."

"The circle? What do you mean? Delta 50, what circle? Delta 50? What circle?" the Doctor asked repeatedly.

But suddenly the Ood opened his eyes that were a deep, glowing red. The trio scrambled back as it growled and sat up. But the growl quickly faded and he fell back, dead.

"He's gone, now..." Donna blinked, walking towards the body.

"Careful, Donna," Minerva warned the ginger.

But Donna felt no more threats from the dead alien. She placed a hand on his chest, "There you are, sweetheart," she stroked his head, "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?"

"The snow will take care of that," the Doctor stood to his feet, helping Minerva up then.

"Who was he? What's an Ood?" the ginger turned around.

"They're servants - of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic. That was the song-it was his mind calling out."

"I couldn't hear anything," Donna stood.

"But _I_ could," Minerva frowned, looking at the Doctor with concern, "It was really faint though, only like small snippets that faded as soon as they started. How can I do that if Donna can't and we're both human?"

The Doctor could see that as one of Kaeya's people, the Moontsay's, abilities. They were mildly telepathic and because the crystal had remnants of Kaeya and her people, then it was sure to have been affecting Minerva in that way as well, allowing a snippet of the telepathic abilities to inhabit Minerva's mind.

"I...don't know, sorry," he sighed, the lying was jist getting difficult to do when she wore that sweet, innocent look on her face.

"I told you, you were special," Donna reminded, giving the Doctor a questioning look while the brunette looked ahead. With a nod from him, Donna understood that the crystal was acting up again.

"Oi, _you're_ special too," Minerva countered, believing Donna's silence had gone to those self-esteem doubts. Donna didn't consider herself important nor special in the least minimum and that was something Minerva would not stand for.

"I'm not the one who heard a mind song!" Donna tried playing along with Minerva's beliefs.

"For all we know it was just the TARDIS getting into my head," Minerva shrugged, "I've spent a long time in it now. That was probably it," she glanced at the Doctor for another confirmation.

He did a quick nod and looked back at the dead Ood, not having the courage to look her in the eye and lie once more, "His eyes turned red," he said instead, hoping to get off the topic.

"What's that mean?" Donna asked.

"Trouble. Come on," he nodded for the ginger to return. He took Minerva's hand and started walking away.

None of them noticed the small wave of snow purposely moving to cover the Ood in a perfect manner, a blue light racing up to the sky.

"The Ood are harmless and completely benign," the Doctor was explaining to Donna, Minerva already knowing from his story telling, "Except the last time I met them, there was this force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."

"What sort of force?" Donna questioned.

"Long story."

"Long walk."

"It was the devil, Donna," Minerva answered.

Donna raised an eyebrow, tossing her answer to the trash, "If you're gonna take the mickey, I'll just put my hood back up."

"Must be something different this time, though," the Doctor mumbled, "Something closer to home," they peered over a bluff and saw a base, Ood Operations, "A-ha! Civilization!"

~ 0 ~

Solana Mercurio was greeting a group of buyers for the Ood in front of the company's warehouse, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ood-Sphere and isn't it bracing? Here are your information packs with vouchers, 3D tickets and a map of the complex," an Ood was passing out the maps to the buyers, "My name's Solana, Head of Marketing. I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone. Now if you'd like to follow me-"

"Sorry, sorry! We're late! Don't mind us! Hello," the Doctor, Minerva, and Donna came running up, all out of breath, "The guards let us through."

"And you would be-"

The Doctor flashed his psychic paper, "The Doctor, Donna Noble and Minerva Souza."

"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna supplied, Minerva shooting her a proud wink for her quick wit.

"Must have fallen off my list. My apologies, it won't happen again," Solana smiled, writing down their names, "Now then, Dr, Noble, Mrs. Noble, Miss Souza, if you'd like to come with me-"

"Oh, no, no, no. We're not married," the Doctor shook his head, irritated that once again people mistook Donna for his _wife_.

"We're so not married," Donna added.

"Never."

"Never ever."

"Good because I'd kill both of them if they did that to me," Minerva smirked, taking the Doctor's hand in hers, "My sister cannot marry my boyfriend."

"The only one I'd ever marry is you," the Doctor blurted quite absently, however his comment didn't go over Minerva's head.

"Really?" she blushed, "You'd want to marry _me_?"

The Doctor, who was now sporting a red blush on his face, started stuttering, "Well, I mean...y-yes, but not if you-you d-didn't want to. I-I mean if it was al-al right with y-y-you and..." he took a forceful pause, actually afraid he might have scared her off.

"Right, so can we go in?" Donna asked, biting down her laugh at the pair. They were just adorably hilarious!

"Of course. Here is your information pack. Vouchers inside," Solana handed Donna the packet, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm."

An alarm blared, making everyone look around.

"Ooh, what's that? Sounds like an alarm," the Doctor tried locating the origin of the alarm.

"It's just a siren for the end of the work shift. Now then, this way! Quick as you can!" Solana ushered them inside, also looking about and wondering what the hell was going on.

On a turn of a hallway, Minerva turned around in front of the Doctor and pulled him down into a surprise, passionate kiss, "For the record, I would love to marry you one day," she smiled, Eskimo kissing him afterwards.

The Doctor blinked then smiled, blushing again but this time it was worth it knowing his clever girl would actually _want_ to be his _wife_ in a future...

~ 0 ~

Solana was expounding the qualities of the Ood which stood on pedestals for display to the potential buyers, "As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards, "Here at the Double-O - that's Ood Operations - we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends, "We keep the Ood healthy, safe and educated, "We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better, "Because at heart, what is an Ood... but an extension of us? If your Ood is happy then you'll be happy too," Solana finished with a grand smile and received a round of applause from the buyers. She stepped off her pedestal and moved to the Ood standing in a row, at the center of the room, on circular platforms, "I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations. We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting - How are you today, Ood?" she stopped by the first Ood.

"I'm perfectly well, thank you."

"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen. How are you, Ood?" she moved onto the second.

"All the better for seeing you," the second Ood answered in a sultry female voice.

"And the comedy classic option. Ood, you dropped something."

"D'oh!" the third Ood answered in a Homer Simpson voice, making everyone laugh.

"All that for only five additional credits. The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back," Solana stepped back and allowed the buyers to mingle about.

"This is all wrong," Minerva muttered, nearly glaring at the potential buyers.

The Doctor slipped on his glasses and headed to the control board where he switched on the screen. Donna grabbed a drink and followed, along with Minerva, over to the Doctor.

"Ah, got it. The Ood-Sphere," the Doctor pointed to the screen which showed their current location, "I've been to this solar system before - years ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Let's widen it out... the year 4126. That is the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126? It's 4126? I'm in 4126?" Donna gasped, Minerva smiling in amusement at her.

"It's good, isn't it?"

"What's the Earth like now?"

"A bit full, but you see, the empire stretches out across three galaxies," the Doctor gestured to three lines connecting in a near triangle across the screen.

I"t's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but... back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live - global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."

"Yeah. That thing about the bees is odd," the Doctor mumbled absently.

"But look at us - we're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder..."

"Oi," Minerva elbowed the Doctor in the ribs, "Don't diss my species," she wagged a finger.

"Oh but what a beautiful virus you are," he teased, taking her pointing finger and kissing it, making her laugh.

"What are the red dots?" Donna asked, chuckling herself and pointing to the dots.

"Ood distribution centers," the Doctor replied, distracted as he kissed each Minerva's fingers, she laughed even harder.

"Across three galaxies? Don't the Ood get a say in this?" Donna questioned, deciding to find out for herself as she saw the pair get into another moment of theirs, "Um... sorry, but..." she tapped the Ood gently, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, miss."

"Why do you say, "miss"? Do I look single?"

"Donna, any guy would die for you," Minerva turned around.

"Says the woman who has an alien for a boyfriend," Donna frowned, "C'mon, even the _spaceman_ has a girlfriend!"

"Don't do the 'says' thing, that's mine," Minerva pouted.

"And why do you say it like it's impossible for me to actually have a girlfriend?" the Doctor looked the ginger with a pout.

"Have you seen yourself?" Donna gave him a quick look over.

"I have," Minerva mumbled to the side, blushing deeply.

"Ew," Donna shook her head.

"Not like that!" Minerva quickly exclaimed, blushing even harder.

"Back to the point, please," the Doctor nearly pleaded, sporting his own embarrassed blush.

"Right. What I mean is, are there any free Ood?" Donna turned to the Ood, "Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"

"All Ood are born to serve. Otherwise we would die," the Ood answered.

"No one can be born to just _serve_ ," Minerva said, sadly looking from one Ood to another, "Everyone has a purpose. Everyone is important."

"Before the humans, what were you like?" Donna asked the Ood, the alien simply tilting it's head.

"The circle," it said.

The Doctor tensed, recalling the last Ood's words, "What do you mean? What circle?"

"The circ- the circle- is-"

"Ladies and gentlemen. All Ood to hospitality stations, please," Solana called.

All the Ood started to leave. The Doctor took off his glasses and reached into his pocket for the map of the complex, "I've had enough of the schmoozing. Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"

"Is that a date?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, playfully biting her lip, "Full of adrenaline?"

"What kind of alien boyfriend would I be if I didn't offer a date like that?" he smirked.

"Then off we go!" she beamed, moving to go ahead when she was yanked back, the Doctor giving her a sharp look, "What?"

"You know the word," he reminded.

"What's the word?" Donna stepped to their side, curious.

Minerva groaned, "Allons-y, then..."

"What?" the ginger frowned, confused.

The Doctor beamed and planted a kiss on Minerva's cheek, "Allons-y!"

"That's such a stupid word!" Minerva shook her head, letting the Martian lead them away, her hand in his.

~ 0 ~

The trio came to a locked gate and the Doctor used his sonic to open it.

"Ood Shift 8 commencing," a voice over rang around the area, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing."

The trio climbed up a couple steps and looked down into an open area where two rows of Ood were being marched. An Ood at the end of one of the rows fell to its knees, a soldier, Kess, walked over to it, "Get up. I said, get up!" he ordered, cracking a whip.

"They're _slaves_ ," Minerva said with utter disgust, "Doctor, you forgot to mention that," she shot him a sharp look.

"Get up!" Kess ordered again, the poor Ood standing up, "March!"

"Last time I met the Ood, I never thought, never asked..." the Doctor mumbled, trying to avoid Minerva's eyes.

"That's not like you," Donna shook her head.

"I was busy..."

"That looks like the boss," Minerva nodded over to two men walking after the Ood, another Ood walking along with them.

"Let's keep out of his way. Come on," the Doctor led them down the stairs and off to another place.

~0~

The trio were striding down in front of warehouses, the Doctor lagging behind as he looked at the map of the complex.

Donna and Minerva stopped at a door where Donna whistled loudly, making the Doctor duck and turn back, "Where did you learn to whistle?" he joined them.

"West Ham, every Saturday," Donna shrugged.

"You are _so_ my sister," Minerva laughed, "I've got a whistle of my own."

"Yeah, where did _you_ learn?" she asked as the Doctor used the sonic on the door.

"I've been on the road since I was fourteen, after I left uncle Aaron I started hitching some rides. You gotta have a whistler like no other."

The door slid open and the group went inside. They found it was a warehouse that was filled with dozens of large shipping containers. There was even a large metal claw that moved along the track in the ceiling, currently lifting and moving some of the containers.

"Ood Export. You see?" the Doctor pointed up to the claw, "Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships. Ready to be flown out all over the three galaxies."

"What, you mean- These containers are full of..." Donna trailed off, she and Minerva gazing up at the claw.

"What do you think?" the Doctor moved to the nearest container and opened it up.

"Oh my god," Minerva clapped her hand over her mouth, appalled at the many Ood standing inside the container in a formation.

"Oh, it stinks. How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?" Donna crinkled her nose at the scent.

"A hundred? More?"

"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna frowned.

"It's not so different from your time," the Doctor countered, both women glaring at him.

"We don't have slaves," Donna snapped.

"I didn't even use the maids in my house," Minerva added.

"Who do you think made your clothes?"

Minerva and Donna looked down at their current clothes, suddenly self conscious.

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side? It's not so you can show them the wonders of the universe, it's so you can take cheap shots," Donna spat.

"Sorry..."

"What are you sorry for? Showing us the dark sides of species," Minerva sighed and moved over to his side. He sighed of relief that she hadn't taken offense to it and dropped a kiss to her hair.

"I don't understand, the door was open- Why didn't you just run away?" Donna asked the Ood that had remained still.

"For what reason?" one of the Ood asked.

"You could be free," Minerva offered, thinking that was more than enough of a reason to run.

"I do not understand the concept."

"What is it with that Persil ball? I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?" Donna looked at the pair, confused.

"Ood, tell me, does "the circle" mean anything to you?" the Doctor asked, all the Ood's translator balls lighting up as they answered in unison.

"The circle must be broken."

"Whoa, that is creepy," Minerva's eyes widened.

"But what is it? What is the circle?" the Doctor insisted.

"The circle must be broken."

"But why?"

"So that we can sing."

Up above, Kess, along with two guards, had found the group. Kess walked over to a comms, "Mr Halpen, I'm in Ood cargo. I found your unwanted guests," he turned to the guards, "Go!" and he hit a button, an alarm blared.

"That's us, come on!" the Doctor yanked Minerva by the hand and started running.

The trio ran down the maze of shipping containers, Donna stopping at the sight of a door, "Doctor! Minerva! There's a door!" she headed for it when it opened up and guards rushed in.

"Don't move!" one of the guards held a gun to the ginger.

Donna raised her hands in surrender, unaware that the pair had ran off without her.

~0~

"N-n-n-no, wait!" Minerva stopped the Doctor, "We're short one ginger!" they both looked around to see it was just them.

"Stay where you are!" they hard a guard shout from a distance.

"Gotta keep going!" the Doctor pulled her away again, several of the guards beginning to find them.

~ 0 ~

Kess moved down a catwalk and looked down as the pair ran down the maze.

~ 0~

"Donna? Where are you?!" Minerva shouted, frantically looking around for their ginger friend.

~ 0 ~

"All guards withdraw," Kess ordered into the comm.

"Sir?"

"I said withdraw. Keep to the perimeter. I've got these two."

~ 0 ~

Down below, the Doctor and Minerva stopped, the Doctor pressing himself against a container to listen.

"Where is she?" Minerva panted for air, leaning against the container on her back.

~ 0 ~

"I've always wanted to do this," Kess turned on the equipment around him, taking a seat at the controller of the claw.

~ 0~

"Doctor," Minerva tugged on his sleeve and pointed up, both of them seeing the claw moving for them.

"Don't they dare!" he almost growled, yanking her away. If they dared to touch even a _strand_ of Minerva's hair with that thing...

"Where are gonna go!?" Minerva called, glancing back as the claw neared them.

The claw was sent smashing down, just narrowly missing the pair.

~0~

"Can you help me?" Donna stood to her feet, one of the Ood raising its head...with its eyes _red_ , "Oh, no you don't," the ginger breathed in horror.

~0~

Minerva screamed as she and the Doctor fell and rolled on the floor, "It's gonna get us!" she cried as the Doctor jumped to his feet and pulled her for another run.

He cast a glare up to Kess as they ran again.

~0~

"Stay where you are, that's an order! I said stay! Doctor! Minerva!" Donna pounded on the door, the Ood taking slow steps for her.

~0~

The claw knocked the pair again, this time sending them over some barrels and finally to the floor on their backs.

"It's coming," Minerva pointed up, panting for her air.

The Doctor quickly rolled over her, not going to let anyone hurt her if he could help it. He would not fail her, never again. Minerva screwed her eyes shut and held onto the Doctor's lapels when the claw dropped for them, terrified of what could come next.

~0~

Another hand turned off the control up where Kess was, halting the claw just mere inches from the pair below.

~0~

The Doctor lifted his head up, thanking every possible god he knew for their stream of luck.

"Why aren't we dead yet?" Minerva whispered, her eyes still shut.

The Doctor looked down at her and chuckled, internally debating what he was laughing at: her question or her adorable scrunched face.

He leaned down and kissed her, without a question Minerva responding to it, "Why are we kissing when we could die?" she murmured against his lips.

"Open your eyes and you'll see," he pulled back so she could see above.

Minerva's eyes opened and gazed above at the claw just inches above them, "We have extremely good luck," she whispered.

The Doctor looked at her eyes, just loving how really deep their green was, they were lovely. He could possibly stare at them all day...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Minerva blinked, blushing at how close they were and their position at the moment.

"I just love your eyes," he remarked, resting his forehead on hers. He also blushed at her closeness; he could actually feel her breath hitting him as she panted.

"Are you ever gonna get off me?" she asked quietly, her blush growing deeper, "Because I think they're coming..." she tilted her head back to see running feet coming for them.

"Ruin the moment why don't they," he muttered as he pushed him self up, Minerva laughing as he helped her.

~0~

"Doctor, get me out of here!" Donna shouted endlessly from her container as the Doctor and Minerva were being brought by guards.

"If I were you, I'd listen to the ginger," Minerva said to the guards, "You want trouble, simply upset Donna Noble."

"Unlock the container," Kess gave the order.

The door of the container was opened and out came Donna running to hug the pair, "Oh thank god!"

"Nice to see you again, Donna," Minerva flashed a smile.

"All safe and sound," the Doctor added.

"Never mind about me, what about them?" Donna pointed to the row of red-eyed Ood marching out of the container and killing several guards.

"Red alert! Fire!" Kess ordered and started to shoot along with the rest of the guards, "Shoot to kill!"

The trio took the opportunity and made their escape. They ran out of the warehouse, along with Solana, and stopped once they felt they had a decent distance from the Ood.

"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna leaned against a wall as she caught her breath.

"Don't be stupid. Of course they know," Solana waved her off.

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"No, but they don't ask, same thing," Minerva spat, a new disgusted expression in her eyes, "What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That has nothing to do with me."

"Why cos you don't ask?" Minerva gritted her teeth.

"That's Dr. Ryder's territory!"

"Where is he?" the Doctor moved over, "What part of the complex?" he held the map to her, "I could help with the red-eye. Now show me!"

"Don't think that's gonna work," Donna dashed off.

The Doctor took Minerva's hand, keeping her quite close to him as they ran. No one even looked up to see the blue light just hovering over the spot they had been in.

Solana hurried to a nearby comm. and switched it on, "Mr Halpen, I found the Doctor. He's heading for Ood Conversion."

"On my way," Mr. Halpen replied.

Solana switched off the comm. and took a deep breath, finally returning to normal. A sudden wind picked up as the guards ran past her, _under_ the blue light. The wind held them back for a couple of minutes, as if it was trying to _stall_.

~0~

The trio stopped by another warehouse, the Doctor looking around as he heard the same Ood song again, "Oh, can you hear it? I didn't need the map. I should've listened!" he used the sonic on the door and unlocked it, ushering Minerva and Donna in before going in himself and locking it shut again.

"Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna frowned at the turn of events. She had just been trapped in a container with red-eyed Ood, did she really want to be trapped in a whole warehouse of more Ood?

Minerva looked around as she felt a faint song run through her mind, "Do you hear that?" she whispered.

They headed for some stairs and went down to discover some cages.

"Oh, my head," the Doctor put a hand on his head, feeling it pound with so much music and a high volume.

"What is it?" Donna asked.

"Like...like singing," Minerva mumbled, "But it doesn't hurt me," she looked at the Doctor, "Because I can't hear it properly, I guess..."

They stopped at a cage where Ood were huddled together. The Doctor switched on a light to get a better view.

"They look different to the others," Donna remarked.

"That's because they're natural-born Ood. Unprocessed. Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoiled," the Doctor explained as he squatted in front of the cage, the two women following, "That's their song."

"But I can't hear it," Donna sighed, tired of being the only one who couldn't hear the blasted song.

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah," she turned to face the Doctor.

Minerva tilted her head at the Ood, carefully focusing to the small snippets she heard.

"It's the song of captivity," the Doctor explained as he placed his fingertips on Donna's temples.

"Well, let me hear it, spaceman."

"Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna... Hear the music."

But Donna gasped and faced the Ood, tears streaming down her face as she heard, in a max volume, the song of "captivity". It was...it awful. She could actually feel her heart breaking at their sadness, their sorrow.

"Take it away," Donna breathed, turning to the Doctor again, begging him, "Please..."

"You sure?" the Doctor asked, also catching Minerva's look.

"Oh god yes, please..." Donna nodded, letting him place his fingertips on her temples again, "...I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"But you can still hear it," she said after he was done.

"All the time," he said sadly.

"This is completely awful," Minerva sighed, putting a hand over her head, "We need to stop them."

The Doctor used the sonic on the cage while the women heard a noise from the level above, "They're breaking in," Minerva looked up.

"Ah, let 'em," the Doctor entered the cage as the Ood tried shuffling away, "What are you holding?" he asked them, one of the Ood looking up in shyness, "Friend. Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friend. Look at me. Let me see," the Ood came closer, "That's it. That's it, go on. Go on."

One of them held out his cupped hands and removed the top to reveal a mushy...

"Brain?" Minerva frowned.

"It's a brain. A hindbrain," the Doctor explained, "The Ood are born with a secondary brain. Like the amygdala in humans, it process memory and emotion. You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Minerva or Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."

 **"** So the company... cuts off their _brains_?" Donna could barely utter the words as she thought of the horror those poor Ood went through.

"And stitches on the translator..."

"Like a lobotomy. I spent all that time looking for you two," the ginger looked between the pair, "Because I thought it would be so wonderful out here. I want to go home."

Both stunned, the pair looked at Donna for a second before Mr. Halpen and others arrived, "They're with the Ood, sir," a guard said.

The Doctor slammed the cage door shut, "What are you gonna do, then? Arrest us? Lock us up? Well, you're too late! Hah!"

~ 0 ~

Back in Mr. Halpen's office, the trio were being handcuffed to a pole by guards, Mr. Halpen watching the job be done.

"Seriously, _stop talking_!" Minerva cried to the Doctor.

The Doctor flinched at her loud tone, a big guilty he'd gotten her and Donna cuffed...but it was all for a good cause after all...he'd just have to apologize in a big way again.

"Why don't you just come out and say it? _FOTO_ activists," Mr. Halpen crossed his arms and leaned against his desk.

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor snapped.

"The Ood were nothing without us - just animals roaming around on the ice."

"Who the hell are you to decide that?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "It's because you can't hear their songs...their...very sad song," she looked down, even though she couldn't hear the song in all its volume and glory she could still feel it in her heart...her heart just seem to ache at it.

"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight," Mr. Halpen shrugged.

"You idiot! They're born with their brain in their hands, don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets!" Donna was trying very hard not to yell, for the first time in her life.

"Nice one," the Doctor whispered to her.

"Thank you."

"The system's worked for 200 years. All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized," Mr. Halpen moved to the comm., "Mr Kess, how do we stand?"

~ 0 ~

In the warehouse, guards were moving canisters into position by the fenced-in, red-eyed and rabid Ood. Kess stood watch, "Canisters primed, sir. As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks... and counting."

~ 0 ~

"You're going to gas them?!" Minerva gasped.

"Kill the livestock. The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still works," Mr. Halpen said.

Her eyes narrowed, her eyes flashing blue for a brief second to speak, "You were just like them," she mumbled before blinking and looking around.

The Doctor wondered who she meant by 'just like them'. He supposed that was a brief slip of the crystal inside her. But what did it mean? Was it supposed to be his people at the time of the Time War? Someone the Moontsays had disagreements with as well?

Perhaps this wasn't even what he should be thinking about. His poor clever girl was suffering without even noticing. He just wanted to fix this before she realized what was going on. He didn't want her know and see how terrified she'd be. This was his job and he was going to see to it that nothing happened to her. She would only be happy and happy and happy, just like she should be. She had such a big heart and she didn't deserve this. She'd gone through so much, endured so much from her family and from alien nonsense she had no business being in. And yet after all that she still remained with such a big heart, such kindness inside her. The Doctor loved that about her, the fact that she wasn't corrupted by her mother, by the alien mishaps. He just loved it...he loved...loved...

He blinked as he picked out the repetitive word running through his head and shook it fiercely. This was _not_ the time to be thinking of any of that.

~ 0 ~

The unprocessed Ood put their hands out to the side...

~ 0 ~

The fenced-in red-eyed Ood stood in the center of the warehouse of containers with their hands out to their sides...

~ 0 ~

The Oods in the showroom gripped their heads as if they were in pain...

~ 0 ~

The fenced-in Ood in the warehouse joined in on the song along with the unprocessed Ood, the volume increasing.

~ 0 ~

The alarms blared inside Mr. Halpen's office, "What the hell?" the man looked around.

He, along with Ryder and Ood Sigma, exited the office and left the trio cuffed to the pole. They rushed out to see the guards shooting at the infected Ood.

"It's a revolution," Ryder stared in awe. Halpen pushed past him and went up the stairs, Ood Sigma following in.

~ 0 ~

In the warehouse, Kess had been fenced in instead of the Ood, the canisters still active and his gas mask thrown on the other side of the fence, "Come back! Let me out of here!"

The canisters released the gas and Kess screamed.

~ 0 ~

"Change of plan," Mr. Halpen entered his office.

"No reports of trouble off-world, sir. It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere," Ryder entered after him.

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."

"What's happening?" the Doctor asked, just able to hear the shooting from outside.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood," Mr. Halpen headed for the door.

"But, Mr Halpen, there's something else, isn't there? Something we haven't seen," the Doctor called, making the man stop.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked, confused.

"The creature couldn't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain, they'd be at war with themselves. There's got to be something else, a third element. Am I right?"

"Again, so clever," Mr. Halpen said.

"It's got to be connected to the red-eye. What is it?"

Mr. Halpen looked at the Doctor in the eye for a second, "It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood," and he left the office with everyone else.

The trio immediately started to try and free themselves from their cuffs.

"Well, do something! You're the one with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!" Donna cried.

"These are really good handcuffs!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Yes, because it's all about the _quality_ , Martian!" Minerva reached up to her hair and plucked out a bobby-pin.

"Are you really going to try to get out of this with a _pin_?" Donna shook her head.

"Donna, I've opened the _TARDIS_ with a pin. What's a handcuff to me?"

The Ood entered and made them all desist in their struggles. They started marching towards them, making them scream out in unison that they were friends.

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friends!" the Doctor shouted.

"The circle must be broken!" Donna and Minerva added together.

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Friends, friends, friends! "

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

"Doctor, Donna, Minerva, friends!"

"The circle must be broken!"

The Ood held out their translator balls to them but stopped just literal inches away from the trio's translator balls switched off and the Ood held their head in their hands. One lifted its head and the group saw his eyes were normal again, "Doctor. Donna. Minerva. Friends."

"Oh, that's us!" Donna leaned her head back in relief, "That's us!"

"Yes, that's us! Friends! Oh, yes!" the Doctor laughed.

"Do you think you could set us free? My pin broke." Minerva gestured to her handcuff, so innocently it just added to the Doctor's joyful laughter.

~ 0 ~

The trio ran down the stairs from Halpen's office and across the compound, careful around the ongoing fight. The Doctor came to a halt as he tried to think, "I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?" Minerva asked.

"Might be underground, like some sort of cave or a cavern or..." the Doctor looked around as they continued to run.

~ 0 ~

On a turn, an explosion knocked the group to the ground.

"Alright?" the Doctor glanced between Minerva and Donna.

"Peachy," Minerva rubbed her head.

The smoke cleared up and they saw Ood Sigma standing in front of them.

~ 0 ~

The group arrived in front of the Warehouse thanks to Ood Sigma where the Doctor used the sonic on the panel to get inside. They rushed in to see a great large brain being kept below within an energy field.

"The Ood brain. Now it all makes sense. That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together," the Doctor said as they all looked below, "Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic center. It's a shared mind... connecting all the Ood in song."

A weapon clicked behind them and they turned to see Mr. Halpen holding a gun to them, "Cargo. I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock."

"He's mined the area," Ryder said.

"You're gonna kill it," Minerva whispered, "The weaker species, huh?" she didn't know why but her chest seemed to ache with a constriction, "Why? They're innocent..."

But Mr. Halpen ignored the girl, after all that had happened he really could care less about the Ood being 'innocent' and whatnot, "They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier," he chose to focus on the brain instead. If they were to die, then they might as well know what the thing was.

"Those pylons..." the Doctor said to the women.

"In a circle. "The circle must be broken."" Donna realized, Minerva nodding in agreement.

"Dampening the telepathic field, stopping the Ood from connecting for 200 years."

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here. I expected better," Mr. Halpen shot the Ood a look.

"My place is at your side, sir," Ood Sigma moved to Halpen's side.

He laughed, "Still subservient. Good Oo—" he stopped when he felt a lump in his throat.

"If that barrier thing's in place, how come the Ood started breaking out?" Minerva asked.

"Maybe it's taken centuries to adapt. The subconscious reaching out," the Doctor offered, not so sure himself.

"But the process was too slow, had to be accelerated," Ryder spoke up, turning to Mr. Halpen, "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes. Yes, you did," Mr. Halpen nodded then pushed Ryder over the railing.

"You murdered him!" Minerva cried, disgusted by the man.

No one dared to look down as they believed Ryder to be absorbed by the brain and so none of them saw the blue glow of light rushing down and making him fade away just before actually touching the brain.

"Very observant, brunette. Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before... can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a normal day, is it? Still..." he aimed the gun at them.

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Ood Sigma moved in front of the group.

Mr. Halpen laughed, "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."

"Please have a drink, sir," Ood Sigma held a glass out.

"If- if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too..." Mr. Halpen seemed to struggle to speak, his last words coming out slurry.

"Please have a drink, sir."

"Have-have you... poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."

"What is that stuff?" the Doctor asked curiously.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound."

"He's looking...pale," Minerva remarked, Halpen looking extremely unwell.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mr. Halpen asked, almost gagging.

"Oh dear," the Doctor breathed.

"Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious. Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger. And then there was patience. All that intelligence and mercy focused on Ood Sigma. How's the hair loss, Mr Halpen?"

"What have you done?"

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain. Mr Halpen, can you hear it? Listen."

Mr. Halpen looked to the side as he heard the faint Ood Song in his mind, "What have you-I'm... not-"

Ood Sigma stepped out of the way for the group to see what was going on. Mr. Halpen dropped the gun and gripped his head in agony. He pulled at his scalp and it actually came _off_ , revealing an Ood head. He lurched down as he gagged, tentacles coming out of his mouth.

"They-they turned him into an Ood?" Donna gaped.

"Yup," the Doctor nodded, looking at Donna and Minerva and finding the clever girl to be somewhat distance.

"Minerva?" he asked.

"They died, so many died," she whispered so sadly it broke his hearts. She placed a hand over her heart and he knew that it was another slip of the crystal.

Mr. Halpen made an odd gurgling noise and coughed up his secondary brain.

"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him," Ood Sigma said.

"It's weird, being with you two," Donna remarked, "I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."

"It's better that way. People who know for certain tend to be like Mr Halpen," the Doctor said and heard a loud beeping noise, "Oh!" he turned off the detonation packs quickly, "That's better. And now... Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honor?"

"It is yours, Doctor."

"Oh yes!" the Doctor went to the equipment that powered the field, "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

The field around the brain shut off and the song emerged, heard by everyone now.

"I can hear it!" Donna exclaimed as the Doctor laughed.

Minerva turned to the Doctor, his laughter cutting short when he saw her face covered in tears. He rushed up to her, pulling her away from the others, "What's wrong!? Why are you crying!?" he checked her over for any physical injuries he might have missed earlier.

"I...I don't know," Minerva admitted, looking around as she thought, "My chest," she placed her hand over her chest again, "It...it hurts, it's...this..this is so _sad_."

The Doctor grew silent, that was Kaeya's pain, Kaeya's pain breaking through.

"Why am I so sad?" Minerva burst into tears.

The Doctor pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, looking over her to Donna who stared with confusion and concern. For such a happy moment, it hadn't felt like it...

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Donna stood outside the TARDIS, Ood Sigma and several others a few feet away from them. The Doctor kept the door open in case Minerva were to call or shout for him. She been put to rest after her sudden crying, no struggles given for the first time. The Doctor had made sure her she was as comfortable as possible. He felt responsible, truly responsible, for everything Minerva was going for. He felt so impotent with the situation and frankly, he didn't know how long he could last like this. Finding Kaeya was proving to be an even bigger challenge than it was with Aaron Lozano.

He had to basically sit there and watch how Minerva endured Kaeya's crystal's effects.

"The message has gone out. That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it. Everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. The Ood are coming home," the Doctor spoke, his thoughts pushed away as he focused on the Ood. The faster he finished up here, the faster he could get to Minerva's side and take care of her.

"We thank you, Doctor, Donna, friends of Ood-kind," Ood Sigma said, "And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh-I've-I've sorta got a song of my own, thanks."

"I think your song must end soon."

The Doctor stiffened, "Meaning?"

"Every song must end. Even a flower's song must end."

"Yeah..." the Doctor turned to Donna, avoiding the trouble to think of those confusing words, "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"

"Nope, I think there's someone in that box that needs my help," Donna gave him a sharp look.

She would certainly not be leaving the spaceman and Minerva at any moment, not when there was this big of a problem with Minerva. Besides the traveling and all its glory, she truly did take a liking to Minerva, and she wanted help the Doctor in any way so Minerva would be well again.

"Then we'll be off," the Doctor cleared his throat, the ginger certainly had a look of doom when she wanted to.

"Take this song with you," Ood Sigma said.

"We will," Donna nodded.

"Always," the Doctor added.

"And know this, you will never be forgotten. Our children will sing of the Moontsay-Doctors, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

If the Doctor hadn't been too focused on Minerva he would've caught the alerting word in the Ood's words. He, along with Donna who had missed the word as well, quickly hurried inside the TARDIS.

Once gone, there was a rush of wind and snow scurrying behind the Ood, making them all turn.

Dr. Ryder stood on the snow, stumbling back, "What...what happened?" he shivered and hugged himself, "It's _so_ cold," he dropped to his knees, feeling too weak to stand, not to mention the blazing coldness.

"She is returning," Ood Sigma said, "Moontsay, friend of the Ood."

The blue light behind Dr. Ryder glowed stronger for a second or two and rushed up to the sky again.

~ 0 ~

Donna stood in front of a stove, in the TARDIS kitchen, awaiting for hot chocolate to finish up. The Doctor sat at the table, waiting for her to finish up.

He knew Minerva would be waking up soon and he wanted to have something nice and warm for her. She had been freezing when he brought her into the TARDIS and room. He had wrapped her in blankets and left a heater in her room after he left, hoping it would be enough to bring her temperature up to a human status. And since he could only do milkshakes at the moment, coldness, he asked Donna to help make a nice hot chocolate.

"I just don't understand what the whole crying thing was about," Donna leaned against the counter, watching the hot chocolate in case it was ready yet.

The Doctor sighed, having thought about that more thoroughly, "During the war, Kaeya's people, most of them, died as bystanders. Kaeya lost everything, and I think the situation paralleled with the Ood."

"That's awful," Donna shook her head, "To lose everything, to lose a _home_...I tell you, I lost it with my father's passing, I don't think I could manage losing everything like..." she eyed him cautiously.

"Like Kaeya and I," he finished for her, "It's okay to say it. But, technically, Kaeya hasn't truly lost everything. Her planet is still here, with only her grandfather-"

"A grandfather she thinks is also dead," Donna pointed out, "She has no idea that some of her people have survived to this day.

"I'll gladly take her to see Mayar," the Doctor sighed, "Though I'll probably stay inside the TARDIS."

"What _are_ you going to do when the princess returns?" Donna looked back, "I mean, you said she was in love with you, but...there's someone new in the picture now."

"For some time I believed Kaeya had changed into some dark woman, but now I understand that she was sick. I still care for her, just..."

"...not the way you used to," Donna finished for him.

"I'd like to be friends but not if it makes Minerva feel uncomfortable, and definitely not if it only hurts Kaeya."

"That's big of you," Donna nodded, "But how do you know Kaeya won't bring the claws out to fight for you," she chuckled a little and sat down on the table while the chocolate finished up.

"If she's truly the same woman that I knew for centuries then I know she won't do anything."

"Why though? I mean, I don't know a lot but you said there'd been _centuries_ of love between you two."

"Donna I was married," the Doctor announced, becoming silent as he thought of that wasted time with Kaeya as well.

It seemed to parallel his time with Minerva. Granted, a year didn't compare to centuries but the pain was the same. There was so much they could've done together, he and Kaeya, but under the circumstances their 'courting' was cut short the moment his marriage had been arranged.

"Tell me the story," Donna quietly edged, seeing the troubled thoughts on his face.

"No," he shook his head, snapping out of the thoughts.

"C'mon, remember what I said? I'm here to help Minerva and _you_. Minerva's told me nearly everything about you."

"Another time, I promise," he said instead, actually meaning it.

It would be nice to get the story off his chest and get an opinion that didn't belong to Minerva. He knew that Minerva would never scold him for his past, just because of who she was and what he was to her. But _Donna always_ spoke her mind. He knew that she would say when he'd messed up, give him the real scold he needed, the real advice he needed. Perhaps, like Martha was to Minerva a confidant, Donna could be his.

"Alright spaceman, I'm holding you to that," Donna stood and went to a cabinet, "I'll understand the little love talks about a girlfriend/boyfriend."

"N-n-n-no, it's not like that yet," the Doctor shook his head.

"Oh c'mon, you don't have to lie to me, spaceman," she winked, "I can keep a secret," she whispered.

"I'm not lying," he shrugged 'casually'.

"But you're almost there," Donna studied his face, smiling sadly, "I know it because...that's the look that Lance used to give me, a fake one, but...yeah," she shrugged and turned away before her eyes watered up and were seen.

"Donna," the Doctor moved up to her, "He's not worth it," he set a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know, I know," she wiped a loose tear, "But, Minerva's worth it, right?" she turned to him.

"Millions," he breathed, "She's...she's just, wonderful in every aspect."

"And that's why you're falling in love," she wagged a finger, laughing when he saw him blush, "It's alright because she is too," she picked up the hot chocolate mug, "It won't be long until the three little words pop out," she grinned and pushed the mug to him.

"Thanks Donna," he rolled his eyes playfully and took the mug and walked away.

"I'm here to help!" the ginger called with a small laugh.

~ 0 ~

Minerva had her earphones inside her ears, connected to her mp3 and listened to her music. She sat against her headboard, on her bed, with her blankets to her waist. She'd gotten some nice sleep, but she was still a bit cold and she didn't want to cause any trouble for the Doctor or Donna and so decided to listen to her music in hopes of falling back asleep...though it somehow seemed to be hard as she'd been doing this for twenty minutes.

The door to her room opened just slightly, the Doctor poking his head to see how she was doing, "You're awake," he blinked and stepped inside, noticing she had her earphones plugged in, "Right, probably want to be alone, then," he walked for her.

But she beamed at his appearance and yanked her earphones off, putting her mp3 on her bedside table, "No, I want you to be with me," she reached out for him, "As much as I love my songs I love even more when my Martian is with me."

He laughed, "I brought some-"

"Hot chocolate!?" she tried lifting herself up to see the contents of the mug.

"Yeah," he walked to the side of her bed, handing her the mug, "Donna made it so it's edible."

She chuckled and took his hand, "I would've loved your milkshakes."

"But I wanted you to be warm and since I'm not allowed to use the stove without your supervision, I asked Donna to make it."

"I'll have to thank her then," she pulled him down to the bed, "Can you stay with me, please?" she asked seriously, "I'm cold."

"Anything my clever girl wants, she gets," he reminded and made himself comfortable, "So," he reached for her mp3, "What exactly were we listening to?"

"My favorite song," she sipped her mug.

"Ah yes, the little Spanish one. You know, I don't understand what is so special about it," he gave her a look.

"Is describes me before we got together."

"Care to elaborate?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Mm, alright, I'll tell you why," she made herself comfortable and leaned against the headboard again, "You came into my life and you showed me what it was to be _truly_ happy and I just couldn't tell you how much you meant to me back then. You're always here for me when I cry, when I need someone...you're _always_ here. You've done so much for me and in the past I was afraid I'd lose you and you'd never know how much you meant to me. That's why I love the song, because it's my story, my story in 3 minutes."

"Only here I don't ever plan on leaving you," the Doctor earnestly told her. Suddenly, he kicked off his shoes and scooted closer to her, his hand under her chin, "Never, never, never," he said before pressing his lips to her for a gentle kiss. Minerva was blushing red by the time they pulled apart, not even her small shiver managing to cool her down. The Doctor sadly looked at her and suddenly grinned, "I've got an idea," he declared, "Can you lean forwards, please?"

"Mhm," Minerva did as told and watched him crawl behind her, leaving her in-between his legs.

"There we go," he gently pulled her back to his chest, dropping a kiss on her hair; she definitely felt warmer now which was a good sign, "Now drink up, clever girl."

She took a sip from her mug, "Mmm, it has marshmallows."

"Donna's touch."

"I definitely feel much better now," she tilted her head up, "Do you mind staying with me tonight?"

"Of course not, I'll be here until you want me to leave."

"Oh, guess that's never," she casually shrugged, "I have so much on my mind I don't want to be alone. I'll crack if I do."

"No you won't," he assured her.

"Right, because you're here with me now. I can't break if I got my brilliant Martian with me, right?"

"Right," he firmly said.

"My doctor and even a psychologist, wow..." she paused to think, "...you know, if you wanted to charge, you'd make a fortune out of me and my problems."

"I do charge."

"Oh really?" she raised an eyebrow, "And what's it gonna cost me? Five hundred dollars? A thousand?"

"A thousand," he declared, nodding.

She laughed, "I'm gonna have to make a payment plan because I'm broke!"

"A thousand _kisses_ should do the trick," he grinned.

"Oh, kisses," Minerva pretended to think about it as she drank from her mug again.

"Yes, I don't need money, I need kisses from a beautiful woman."

"Have you tried Marilyn Monroe? I'm sure she'd love plant a big one on you," she shrugged.

"Nah, I was setting my eyes on this brunette," he kissed her cheek, making her smile, "She has this beautiful eyes that I can stare into for eternity, she's insanely clever, mind you she's short," he kissed her neck.

"Oi!"

"And yet so big of confidence," he kissed her temple, "She's got really long hair I just love to kiss," he set a couple of kisses around her head, making her chuckle, "She always smells like vanilla for some reason," he turned her head to him, "Sound familiar?"

"Mm, maybe," she mumbled, entranced by his closeness and minty scent.

"And I've heard she's cold so I've gotta warm her up, starting with her lips," he lifted her chin and kissed her.

"Definitely warmer," she murmured into their kiss.

"I swear to you, Minerva, that nothing will happen to you," he rested his hand on her cheek, looking her in the eye, "I swear."

"I know you will, I trust you with my life, Martian," she took his hand from her face and kissed the back of it, not grasping what the Doctor was truly talking about. While he spoke about the crystal she thought it was just him by him and his over-protection, "For now, think you can keep me warm?"

He smiled and nodded, "Of course," he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her blanket over them, resting his chin over her head while she drank from her mug, silently cursing himself for this mighty secret of a crystal he was keeping from her.

But it was for her own good, and if it did her good he'd do it.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hi! Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans! Careful with those fireworks lol.

Anyways, hope everyone had a nice week. I know I did once giving my final presentation for my summer class. Cannot wait until I'm officially done next week with it. It means I can finally continue with my other drafts for other stories ^.^

Aw, thank you! I'm glad you like my story and I hope this update was to your liking :) To be or not be, that is the question am I right? lol, guess we'll have to see what happens in the end ;)

That Doctor is just so...aaagh, as Martha would put it, that who knows what runs through that crazy head of his. But, as you can see, perhaps those ideas may have left his mind. Thank you! I try to make original chapters as best as I can in terms of quality lol, glad to know they really are good (as well as my original characters). It's okay, I ramble a lot too. That Cody? Hm, wonder what will happen with him :)

Oh no, let's hope they don't separate. It seems like the Doctor has forgone the idea but we know indecisive he can be at times :o. Oh, the in-between thing is going to get very...interesting, when it comes to that part. I love/hate those upcoming chapters because it involves happiness, yet sadness, tears, very foul tricks and...

I'm rambling, oh no, best shut up now *grins excessively*

Yeah...that Sophia just doesn't quit at it, huh? The time will come for the meeting...patience is key :) ...sometimes.

Oh, there'll be more on Kaeya in the next chapter, did I mention it's an original as well? So sorry I scared you with Pompeii, had to add some angst in there right? No, it's fine, Sophia is definitely NOT a nice woman. I knooooww, I wish I had an uncle like that too, so sweet and thoughtful!

Wow, thank you for your words! Yes, the family certainly could have switched up some of the personalities around. Sure would've helped Minerva a little more. But guess we can't really tell what was happening in the mind of Olivia in the past...or could we? ;). Ah yes, that Doctor is quite oblivious in all aspects isn't it? Sure does miss the obvious when it comes to Minerva and her desires for the future. What are we gonna do about that?

I really loved reading these comments, everyone seems to agree the Doctor's being a bit of an...well, idiot. Let's see what happens in the next chapter :)

As always, thank you very much for leaving your thoughts and I hope to hear what you thought of this one!


	7. Memory Lane

"You know I can't paint, Doctor. Why not give it a rest?" Minerva sighed as she tried placing down her paint brush.

The Doctor took her hand and kept the brush in it, "Nonsense, you're doing wonderful!" he gestured to the canvas in front of them.

Minerva was painting, rather badly she believed, the scenery they had in front of them; a Japanese cherry blossom park. It was Sakura, the cherry blossom festival, and the park was more than beautifully decorated with lanterns that would be lit in the night, families in their respective gatherings, market stands of food and trinkets set up around, and the beautiful cherry blossom trees.

The Doctor had surprised Minerva with this trip in the morning, telling her it was just a random surprise. Secretly, he wanted to bring her somewhere entirely peaceful so she could rest from the crystal's effects and also distract herself from her family problems. The Doctor truly hated how badly Minerva was feeling for things that just weren't her fault. All that guilt was mixing with Kaeya's crystal's effects and he was afraid it would damage her health to the point of...well...death. He didn't know just how strong that crystal was but he knew it could be up to terrible stakes. After the planet of the Ood, a planet basically of snow, he wanted to bring Minerva somewhere nice and calm where the crystal was less likely to act.

Though the specific location of the cherry blossom festival wasn't _that_ warm as he wanted it to be. Still, it was a decent cold that humans were used to. But it didn't stop him from actively trying to hand over his coat so Minerva could wear it and stay warm. He doubted her kimono could really be that warm.

But oh that kimono...

As peaceful as he wanted it to be, he could not stop himself from actively trying to steal kisses from her. He wanted Minerva's day to be serene and here he was trying to snog her every opportunity he had. Not very calm, was it?

Minerva was styling a traditional, Japanese kimono for the event. She, along with Donna, outright refused to attend the festival without the proper attire. So, Minerva came out wearing a blue and pink, flowered patterned kimono that wrapped around her body quite beautifully. The sleeves were bell styled, although not too loose, and her v-neck was a bit lower than usual.

Minerva's hair was picked up in a braided bun with a few strands of hair picking at the sides of her face. The only thing she'd done differently was that instead of wearing the usual traditional geta sandals, she wore blue flats; the necklace the Doctor had given her for her birthday also dropped proudly around her neck.

The Doctor truly felt like he was being tested. How far could he resist his clever girl's charms?

She was just too beautiful.

...which made it all the much harder to control himself.

"Doctor, can't we do something else?" Minerva turned to him, oblivious to his thoughts, "It's useless, I can't paint."

"What are you talking about? That," he pointed to the canvas, "Is wonderful progress!'

The pair stood beside a lake, a small bridge to their right that connected them to the other side of the large park. The Doctor had suggested Minerva try and paint the scenery. The lake was quite beautiful, bright blue with fresh cherry blossoms floating downstream and even a couple of fishes. The trees were letting loose dozens of cherry blossoms down. It was a scene that deserved to be painted, and who else to paint it than the most beautiful woman in the world?

"It's horrible," Minerva pouted.

She had attempted to paint the left side of the lake and she thought all the cherry blossoms were too pink and uneven.

"No it's not," the Doctor wound an arm around her waist as he stared at the canvas.

He saw the delicate cherry blossoms painted beautifully and realistically. The half side of the lake was painted with the exact brilliant blue it had. He didn't understand why Minerva was so keen on putting down her work. It was she that had wanted to paint back in China, and she did make progress with blue butterflies!

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend," she crossed her arms, "But the truth is I stink at it and it's nothing," she shook his arm off her and turned away.

"Hey, where'd that come from?" he reached for her arm and turned her to him, "Putting down your own work like that isn't something you do. What's wrong, clever girl?"

"Everything, my family and me...it's all wrong," she looked at the canvas behind them, "I'm nothing," she mumbled sadly.

"Where did _that_ come from?" the Doctor frowned, appalled at such a thought.

"There's something I haven't told you," she fiddled with her fingers.

"Which is?"

She sighed, "Marisol has called a few more times...and I keep answering."

"Why, Minerva?" the Doctor sighed, already seeing where this was headed.

"It's been three days," she looked down, "And I stupidly think each time she's just calling to accept my apologies..."

"Minerva, what on earth could you be apologizing to her for?"

"I don't know!" she started sniffling, "I just wanted to fix something with my family. I thought if I apologized she'd accept it and forgive me for what ever I did...but she hates me, she despises me apparently," she burst into sobs, "She outright despises me and I don't know what I did."

Minerva didn't understand why she garnered so much hatred from her cousin. As a kid, Marisol was always rude to her, making her feel like she was truly nothing. Olivia would try to defend her little sister but she wasn't always there for Minerva, which left it wide open for Marisol to attack. Minerva couldn't remember doing something to provoke Marisol. Marisol just liked making her feel bad for no reason. As children, Marisol would steal Minerva's toys, push her around to the point of actually physically hurting her. And when Minerva would tell her parents, Marisol always convinced them she was innocent and Minerva was lying. And as they grew, things got worse. In middle school, some of Minerva's classes would be in an upper division...into Marisol's classes to her dismay. Marisol would always make jokes to her friends about Minerva, only making Minerva feel worse. Things were now at their worst now that they were both young adults. Over the phone wasn't much of a difference; Marisol would get straight to the point and insult, gloat, and belittle Minerva.

Minerva just didn't understand what she'd done to her cousin.

The Doctor had taken her into a hug with a big sigh, "Minerva, we've talked about this. Stop trying to get forgiveness for something you didn't do. You've done absolutely nothing wrong!"

"No, it seems like I always do everything wrong!"

"No, no you don't. And it honestly surprises me that you would let such an awful woman taint your self esteem like this. You know you're amazing, you know you're clever, skillful, etc., why do you let one of the worst people take that away from you?"

"I...I don't know," she confessed.

She honestly didn't. She always had a good image of herself but when it came to her family, it just went down to the sewers. Her family, while running away from them, did mean a lot to her. She didn't care that her parents didn't love them, _she_ did. She loved them and all she wanted was for them to forgive her.

And perhaps that was the problem.

By desperately wanting to be forgiven, she'd accept any insults in hopes that they would see she was truly sorry and forgive her. Since Marisol was closer to her mother nowadays, perhaps the woman could get her mother to forgive Minerva. That's why, when Marisol called those last three days, Minerva did her best to express how sorry she was and how much she accomplished just for her family. But Marisol had other ideas, she kept shooting Minerva down, insulting her in every way possible and gloating just how much she was enjoying the attention Sophia was giving her instead of Minerva. That while Minerva was off doing silly little paintings and traveling, Sophia was giving her love and affection to Marisol instead of her daughter.

And it broke Minerva's heart.

She viewed her painting as something insignificant that could never compare to her mother's love. It was awful, nothing, wrong...

"Tell you what, as soon as we get back to the TARDIS, we'll chuck the cellphone into a black hole, yeah?" the Doctor offered, really going to do that despite what her answer was.

"But what will we do when Martha tries to call?" Minerva tried stopping her sobs.

"We'll get a new phone, upgrade it and it'll only have her number."

"And grandma's?"

"Of course," he rubbed her back, relaxing only slightly that she had managed to stop crying.

"And Uncle Aaron's? Astrid's? Jack's?"

" Yes, yes, and...um..."

Minerva giggled at his resistance to add Jack's number. Even though the immortal man had made it perfectly clear he had no interest in Minerva whatsoever, the Doctor was still prone to be jealous. And seeing the kick out of it, Jack would often have some fun.

"Oh I love your giggles," the Doctor sighed, now much better.

"Or...we could just _block_ the number," she offered, "It's a lot easier."

"Blocking it is!" the Doctor nodded as he rubbed her tears off her face, resting his hands over her cheeks afterwards, "Now then, I'd like to see your gorgeous smile."

Involuntarily, Minerva smiled, her face warming up, "So...do you really think my painting is coming out okay?"

"I think it's coming out beautifully. You're making such good progress, really."

"Think I could give Leonardo da Vinci a run for his money?" she glanced at her canvas, perhaps it wasn't that bad...

"Oh definitely, but you'll never compete with him because you're never seeing him again," the Doctor declared.

"Overly jealous, Martian," she informed as she got on her toes.

"Have you seen yourself? I have a right to be jealous," he leaned down to ease her struggle of her toes.

"I'm plain and simple," she declared and kissed him.

That was far from it, the Doctor thought. To him, she was a goddess that seemed to captivate him more with each day.

~ 0 ~

"These are some funny fishes," Minerva remarked, she and Donna knelt down on the edge of the running lake.

"You're telling me, I think that one has only one eye," Donna tried leaning forwards to get a closer look at a fish that had caught her attention.

"What? Where?" Minerva leaned forwards as well, though with her curiosity she nearly slipped into the lake if it hadn't been for Donna yanking her back.

"Minerva they're just _fish_!" Donna laughed, "You don't need to drown for them!"

"Sorry, sorry," Minerva blushed in embarrassment, pushing strands of her hair behind her ears as she took another look at the lake, "These fish are just marvelous to me," she sighed in content, "Martian, please tell me you didn't see any of that?" she looked behind her to where the Doctor stood. She tilted her head when she noticed he seemed a bit...distant, "Martian?" she called again, her blush slowly fading, "You okay?"

The Doctor blinked, his ears working just fine as he heard her and yet...his mind was somewhere else.

* * *

 _"Where are we going, Kaeya?" the Doctor struggled to walk up the snowy hill. It was a very small hill but with its heavy snow covering every last inch it proved to be quite the challenge for him._

 _Kaeya simply bit her lip with a knowing smile, "Somewhere. It's really nice and I want to show you."_

 _"Can't you just tell me what it is?"_

 _"Where's the fun in that?" she crossed her arms, "It's a really lovely place, I promise."_

 _"Is there any place on this planet **without** snow?" he earnestly asked, struggling even more while she stood just a couple feet away in calmness._

 _"This is the Silver Monsoon, there is no such thing as 'snowless'...except for houses."_

 _"Or castles," he murmured, recalling the size of the castle Kaeya lived in. It was simply beautiful and made of ice._

 _Kaeya laughed, "C'mon," she gently thrust her hand forwards and blew away a clear path for the Doctor, "Before we get caught," she giggled and reached for his hands, pulling him up to where she was._ _The Doctor blinked at their proximity, their faces just inches away from each other. Kaeya smiled softly, her hands still in his, "Is something wrong?" she quietly asked._

 _"N-nope," he shook his head and stepped back, blushing, "So where's that place?"_

 _"C'mon!" she let go of one of his hands and used her other to pull him towards a small lake, one that was not iced as was their usual preferred lake to meet up in._

 _"Another lake?" the Doctor tried not to sound as disappointed as he really was._

 _"This one's different," she promised as they reached the edge. She let go of his other hand and knelt down, passing a hand through the lake, "Isn't it beautiful?" she looked at the creatures swimming peacefully in the lake, "When you brought me the book of aquatic life on Earth, I kept thinking of this lake. I think it has the most beautiful aquatic creatures the Monsoon has to offer. They're marvelous," she sighed happily, "Don't you think?" she looked up._

 _The Doctor nodded, kneeling down beside her and dipping his hand into the lake, "Quite," he looked at the princess with a soft smile, she returning the gesture._

* * *

"Oi, spaceman?" Donna called, finally managing to get through the silent man.

"Huh? Yes?" the Doctor blinked rapidly as he looked at the two women.

"Are you okay?" Minerva stood up, dusting herself off as she walked up to him.

"Y-yes," he nodded.

"You seemed kind of lost."

"And more than usual," Donna added from behind.

"Thank you Donna," the Doctor cast her a small glare before taking Minerva's hands in his, "I was just thinking, nothing important."

"Are you sure?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "It's been happening a lot lately. Anything on your mind?"

"Just you, dear," he gave her a peck.

Minerva chuckled lightly, "Smooth, Martian."

"Always," he grinned and placed another kiss on her lips.

"Em, so how about before you start snogging we head over for some lunch?" Donna cleared her throat before the pair got anywhere nearer.

"Lunch sounds delightful," the Doctor said as he held one of Minerva's hand in his up, "Would you care for some good ole lunch, dear?"

"Is that another date?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Mm, yes, but this one has no adrenaline in it, I'm afraid."

"Well, you'll have to make it up to me somehow," she warned with a smirk.

"Oh don't you worry, I'll definitely find a way," he kissed her hand and led them off.

Donna gave a mock roll of the eyes before following them. Suddenly, she felt like she had seen a faint blue glow behind her. She turned around and scanned the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She shook her head and continued walking after the pair, figuring she'd imagined it.

~ 0 ~

"Fish cakes?" Donna Noble asked, watching in disgust as the Doctor picked one up, "As in... _fish_...cakes?"

"Please don't eat it, Martian," Minerva pleaded, doing her best to keep her self calm. She sat on the man's lap, Donna sat across them on a lunch table, "I won't kiss you anymore if you do."

The Doctor grinned, waving said cake in his hand, "What? This wasn't for me, silly," he tapped her nose.

"Then who-"

The Doctor stuffed her mouth with the fish cake, raising his eyebrows as he awaited for her to chew and swallow it...

...much she liked forced him to drink her coffee and strawberry crepe in 1969.

Minerva made faces as she forced herself to chew, the thing was horrible! Donna was smiling in amusement, knowing it was just the Doctor trying to mess with the clever girl and get her to smile. Neither knew it was also for a bit of sweet revenge Minerva owed him.

"So, how was it?" the Doctor asked, smirking, when Minerva had swallowed.

"H-horrible," she shivered and reached for a napkin off the table, "That was horrible! Why'd you do that!?"

"You did that to me in 1969, your birthday!"

"But I made you drink maple syrup _coffee_! That was sweet, not disgusting! And I gave you strawberry crepes! Those two were delicious and it didn't make your breath smell bad! You smelled like strawberries and I like strawberries," she started pouting, the Doctor internally sighing as he knew she would get him to do anything she wanted when she did that, "I smell like fish and no one likes fish! And now you're not gonna wanna kiss me anymore cos _I_ said if you ate it I wouldn't kiss you anymore and-"

The Doctor had went ahead and kissed her.

Donna rolled her eyes and reached for a strawberry, how Minerva didn't see that coming she did not know.

"Delicious," the Doctor parted, smiling softly at his clever girl that still seemed in doubt.

"Really?"

"I could gladly go ahead and prove it again," he shrugged innocently.

"Don't you dare, spaceman," Donna called, not about to see a snog while she ate, "I wanna keep my food in my stomach."

Minerva blushed and reached for a grape, while the Doctor may not be affected by the fish cake she sure was. She picked several up and dropped them into her mouth, "Sorry Donna," she chewed.

"Tell me, how did Martha stand you two?" the ginger joked, shaking her head.

"She left when we got together," the Doctor said absently, stroking Minerva's side of her face. He just loved how smooth and warm her skin, knowing, and practically beaming, it was red and warm because _he_ was touching her.

"Smart Martha," Donna mumbled.

"We should go visit her soon," Minerva suggested, really excited to introduce her best friend to her ginger sister, "I'm sure you two would get along really well!"

"Anytime you want to go, just say the word," the Doctor said to Minerva.

He would secretly want to see their old companion as well, but Minerva's need was much stronger than his. They were best friends and of course phone calls wouldn't be the same. And besides that, Martha was really the last companion they could actually visit. Rose wasn't here anymore, nor Mickey, so those two were out of the question.

"We should," Minerva nodded, "Martha said she was going to be transferred to the states for her UNIT work. Apparently they found an odd case in a hospital or something like that. Dr. Jones, on the case!"

"She's a doctor, now?" the Doctor asked, surprised he had missed that important detail.

"UNIT rushed it for her since she was a bit...experienced," Minerva smirked, "Because you know, who's better at saving the earth from aliens than the woman who saved the planet on her own?"

"Well...I helped too you know," the Doctor mumbled, mock offended.

"I know you did, that's why you got me!" she pointed at herself with a beam and laughed.

"What a reward," he Eskimo kissed her, both chuckling, "I'd stay another year locked up just to get you."

"Really? In all those awful conditions the Master had you in?" Minerva asked and the Doctor simply nodded. Minerva blinked, surprised he'd willingly be in a cage just for _her_.

But the Doctor was quite sure of himself. All that horrible year the only thing he had to do to pass the time was think...and in thinking, his mind always wandered to the clever girl, Minerva. He would think about their time together, ever since Rose's departure, and he cursed himself for wasting so much time. Those times in 1913, as short as it was. were _precious_ to him. As a human, he truly had fallen in love with Minerva. That woman had worked her way into his hearts with such ease and in such a short time it actually shocked him. He especially thought about their kisses, oh their kisses...even as an elderly man his hearts beat at the speed of a teenager when they came into mind. The one that really stuck in his mind was the one in 1969, the "secret" kiss as he thought before. It had been a kiss that _he_ had went for, as wrong as it was to practically steal it from Minerva, but it was the kiss that made him accept his feelings for her and that's why he though about it the most.

So then he cursed himself for wasting all the time before that. Sure, it was about half a year in Earth terms where he started falling for Minerva, but it was precious time for Minerva and her human lifespan. He could've done so much in six months, taken her to the most amazing places he could think of. He could've had her in his arms, comforting her when she needed to be, kissing her when he'd like...he'd wasted all that time and it only made it harder to look at the poor girl being tortured by a man _he_ was responsible for. The Master, the man who killed his past love, had been to the brink of killing Minerva.

He liked to think that the year-that-never-was was more of a punishment for him hurting Minerva. The only thing he loathed was that Minerva had also been punished. And, even after so much of her pain, she _still_ accepted him. In a miracle, he'd finally gotten his clever girl.

"I would without a doubt, of course you'd have to be safe and sound and far away from the Master," he tapped Minerva's nose.

She blushed, "You're so sweet.."

"And since silence has fallen..." Donna swayed her head, there was another kiss to be shared.

"Believe me, dear, no one compares to your sweetness," the Doctor looked his clever girl over, neither him or her hearing Donna's remark.

He looked at the woman on his lap and simply could not believe he could have gotten her, even more that she actually _wanted_ to be with him. He...was no good man, he knew. Minerva was the complete opposite; despite having a horrible childhood, she was absolutely sweet and kind, a little too much for her own good he often admitted. And having those qualities, he didn't know why she wanted him when she deserved someone much better, a kind, a _good_ man...someone who hadn't killed an entire species. But for her Minerva to openly decide she wanted him, even after knowing what he'd done, a Martian who was a gazillion years older than her, was simply 'wow'. There were no other words that came into mind. It was a miracle.

Minerva blushed deeper as his eyes lingered on her, "Believe me, you're worth all the tortures," she leaned in and the two kissed.

"I really dread to think what you did before I came along," Donna took a sip of her drink as the pair parted.

"We behaved," Minerva replied, looking at the Doctor with a sly smile as she bit her lip, "Just like Martha said to, right Martian?"

"Y-yes," the Doctor cleared his throat.

Donna didn't need to know they snogged almost all the time during their first months of being in a relationship, it wasn't as if they did something they shouldn't have. They simply kissed and spent all their time together, going on dates, giving each other educational lessons like Minerva teaching the Doctor how to use a blender and he teaching her a new language. They only kissed at times...well, whenever they got something right on their lessons...or when they were happy...or sad...or crossed...or...just in the mood.

Donna just smirked, as if they could pull one over her, "Yeah right, let me guess: you snogged in the console room, kitchen, pool, library, Minerva's painting room, and I'm willing to bet every last part of the universe."

"Shut up," was all the pair had to sat on that topic.

"Just know that when I meet Martha I'm telling on you," Donna smirked even wider when the pair blushed deeply, "That's right, you're both in big trouble."

"I'm not afraid of Martha," Minerva shrugged, looking at the Doctor to see he was actually a bit more concern, "Martian?"

"It's a bit easier for you not to be afraid, dear," he leaned to her ear and whispered, " _I'm_ the one that's snogging her best friend."

"Yeah, which _I_ give consent to!"

"Still..." he mumbled and looked away.

"Aww, don't worry, I'll protect you from big bad Martha," she pecked his lips.

"You two are ridiculous," Donna remarked, "You find an excuse to turn everything into a kiss."

"If you want Donna, I can set you up with someone," Minerva offered, "Like I said, there's some planets with some real good looking aliens."

Donna pretended to think about it,"Well...I don't know, I might get stuck with a long streak of nothing like you did," she gestured to the Doctor.

Minerva laughed which then made Donna laugh...all while the Doctor frowned and looked between both women.

"This is my cue to leave," he declared and moved to get up.

"N-no!" Minerva pushed him down. Before she was forced off his lap, "I'm sorry, Martian. You know I don't think that," she rested her head on his shoulder and absently stroked his chest, "You're wonderful."

"Kiss up!" Donna called.

"Shut up, Donna," Minerva lifted her head and kissed the Doctor's cheek, "So, am I forgiven?"

"I can't really say no to that face," the Doctor sighed, "So yes."

Minerva beamed and gave him another kiss, "Yes!"

"Oi, here eat this before you snog," Donna chucked Minerva a grapefruit which she barely caught.

"Hm, I've never had grapefruit," Minerva shrugged before eating a bit...only for her spit it out to the side, "And I never will again!" she pursed her lips together and shivered, "Now that was really awful. It's sour!"

The Doctor blinked at her, finding her adorable and yet in the back of his mind...there was something else that popped up.

* * *

 _"So what exactly is this?" Kaeya blinked as the Doctor placed a brown basket in front of her. Without waiting for an answer, she dropped to her knees and started picking up the various types of food inside._

 _"It's fruit from Earth," the Doctor replied as he squatted down beside her, "They brought some to Gallifrey just for some tastes and so..."_

 _Kaeya glanced at him with a smirk, "You 'borrowed' them?" she raised an eyebrow._

 _The Doctor stared at the basket with a small smile, "Perhaps..."_

 _"You realize you can't borrow food, right? I'm sure that's a similarity your planet and mine share."_

 _"They won't miss it," the Doctor waved it off and picked up a fruit, a grapefruit, "Try some."_

 _Kaeya took the fruit and and tore it apart in a wonky half, "Try it with me," she held one half for him. The Doctor took the half and awaited her to prepare, "Ready?" she asked and he nodded, "Bite!"_

 _Both took a bite of their fruit at the same time and garnered different tastes. The Doctor thought of it sweet but Kaeya thought it was plain sour!_

 _The Doctor let out a big laugh when Kaeya started making faces, the princess spitting out what was left in her mouth, "No, no, no, that is VERY bad!" she decreed._

 _"What? It was good!"_

 _"No, it was bad," she threw her half and then snatched the Doctor's to throw it as well, "Grapefruits are not allowed on the Monsoon. Never, never, never."_

 _The Doctor stared at her for a moment and smiled, "You're adorable."_

 _Kaeya blushed, "You're not so bad yourself," she chuckled and started searching through the basket again._

* * *

The Doctor shook his head upon returning back to the present moment, something that didn't go missed by Donna. Minerva was too busy looking for something decent to eat to notice anything.

"Minerva, do you mind?" the Doctor quietly gestured if she would allow him to stand.

She looked at him and nodded, "Sure thing," she stood and was immediately sat down when he had stood, "Is something wrong?" she asked when she noticed how pale he'd gotten so suddenly.

"Yeah," he swallowed, "Just, um, gonna go see about some horses."

"Oh no, no horses please," she pouted, "You know how I feel about them."

"Don't worry," he smiled, "Your Martian will be right there protecting you from the big bad horses," he teased and set a kiss on her lips.

"He better be or I'll kill him," she warned weakly after their kiss.

The Doctor smiled and set another kiss but on her head, "I'll be back," he whispered and walked off.

What was going on with him? Why did his mind choose to play this games with him!? He was happy where he was, he wanted Minerva, he lo...he wanted her and only her. Why must he keep thinking of Kaeya?

"Oi, spaceman!" he heard Donna holler behind. He looked over his shoulder to see the ginger grabbing the side of her kimono in order to catch up to him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Donna, don't leave Minerva alone," he shook his head.

"Oh, she didn't mind. I told her I was getting changed for that horse thing. Mention horses and she wants nothing to do with it apparently," Donna shrugged, "But in reality I came for you. What's going on?"

"Nothing, why would you think something's going on?"

"I'm no idiot," she whacked his arm, "I've noticed how distant you've grown at times, like you're just not there with us. Now I told you this before, spaceman, I'm here to help both you and Minerva. What's the matter, eh?"

"I don't want to leave Minerva-"

"And yet you don't want to be with her right now and _that_ means something truly bad is going on," Donna crossed her arms, "C'mon, I told you once to tell me the story. I'll listen, promise," she put a hand on his arm.

The Doctor looked past her towards the table where Minerva had been left in and sighed, "Find someone to keep her company, please? It won't be right to leave her."

Donna nodded, "Yeah, I'll get one of the new friends we made."

"Just no men around her age," he warned, "...or any man actually."

Donna laughed, "Yeah, got it," she gave a thumbs-up and hurried to do her task.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Donna walked through the small woods that served as a place for the horse riding to take place in, Donna now changed into more comfortable clothes including a a purple jacket with a black blouse, jeans and small black boots. Donna had convinced Minerva to spend some time with one of the families they had met earlier in the day while the Doctor and Donna were off 'horse riding' and so Minerva hadn't even questioned it and simply went with the family.

"So, wherever and whenever you want to start," Donna sighed lightly, doing her best to be patient with the Doctor.

He'd been silent (for the first time) for a quite a while now and Donna feared he'd never talk. But the Doctor took a breath and decided to go with the most urgent thing at the moment, "I keep thinking of Kaeya," he declared. He looked down when Donna's eyes widened, feeling ashamed of himself.

"What? What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's been happening lately, and it's bad I know, but...I can't stop it."

"Well, do you have feelings for her?"

"No, no, I just...look, Kaeya was and will always be something truly important in my life. She was my first love, a love that was never lived," the Doctor swallowed, "But I've got Minerva now," just at the mention of her name he felt himself slowly relax and even smile a little, "She's my everything and I don't want to lose her by telling her of this."

"What do you see of Kaeya right now?" Donna decided to ask, perhaps there was a different reason for seeing the other woman that the Doctor hadn't picked up on.

"It's weird, I..." the Doctor paused to gather coherent words in his mind, "...sometimes, there's these little things that Minerva does or says that... _remind_ me of what Kaeya used to do. I never really noticed how similar they are at times. It's peculiar to me."

"But they're not completely the same are they?"

"No, they're both kind women but there's sharp differences between the two," the Doctor nodded with assurance, "Kaeya never spoke out, she never had the courage to do what she wanted, no matter how much it harmed her. Minerva does, she _did_. She left her parents and went out to travel because she wanted to. Minerva's bold, she's got attitude, she's got sass, and..." he smiled softly, "...she's one woman you do _not_ mess with."

"Except for when it comes to her family," Donna added with a sigh, making him sigh in agreement.

"That's all their fault, not Minerva," he said, "She's all those things I just said because it's her personality. Kaeya always dreamed of being like that..." he sighed, "...but it never happened."

"Well listen, it's my understanding that you and that princess shared centuries together so naturally it's going to be popping into your head at times, but I wouldn't worry about it. What I think is going on is that you've never really spoken about her to anyone but Kaeya herself. I think you have all these memories of her that are trying their best not to be forgotten."

"So what do I do about it?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Talk to me about her," Donna nudged him, "C'mon, tell me about this snow princess."

"What do you want to know?" he raised his shoulders awkwardly. He would think a sister, whether by blood or not, would never want to hear about her sister's boyfriend's past love.

"Why didn't you ever take her away from that planet?" Donna began at the very beginning of her curiosity.

"The Moontsays are bound by the cold, they'd need to adapt slowly to warmer climate and Kaeya never had that opportunity. If I were to take her somewhere, she'd die."

"Ouch," Donna made a face, "So that's why you visited her instead?"

The Doctor nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "Yeah. At first, when I had no TARDIS of my own nor a family, I would steal the TARDIS I have now from its place and take it for a joyride to the Monsoon."

"Didn't you get caught?"

"I knew when to take it; I had every visit to the Monsoon perfectly calculated...when to go and when to come back."

"You were on a tight schedule, then? Blimey, what a 'date'," Donna chuckled.

"It had to be that way," the Doctor shrugged, "Kaeya had to sneak away from her home, from her guards, everyone. We'd usually meet on this lovely iced lake."

"And what did you do all that time you were there? I doubt you paraded down her city's streets or anything like that," Donna smirked, "What did you do, spaceman?"

"Donna," the Doctor looked away with a deep blush on his neck that slowly crept onto his face.

"This was before you met Minerva, everyone's got a past, no need to be ashamed," Donna shrugged.

"We didn't do anything bad," the Doctor assured but kept receiving elbows on his side like Minerva would, "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Ow!"

"Spaceman!"

"Alright fine," the Doctor stepped away from Donna, his hands in front of him to protect himself from the ginger, "So...you have to understand, Donna. I first saw Kaeya as a child, both of us, and I continued to see her each year for a couple minutes before the spaceship I was in would fly away from the Monsoon. One year, as a teen, I tried sneaking out of the ship to see her, and I was caught, so I went a long time before I saw her again."

"Aw, that's sad," Donna made a face.

"It was, that's when I stole a TARDIS for the first time, the TARDIS I would one day really steal and never give back," the Doctor smiled, "But by the time I did that I was over the age, a 'young adult' as Earth terms would appropriate. Kaeya was no longer that child I saw from a ship. She was...a beautiful young woman," he breathed, "She kissed me that first time we met face-to-face."

Donna rolled her eyes, "Is there any woman you _haven't_ snogged?" the Doctor gave her a look up and down to answer her question and so Donna immediately pointed at him, "And it's staying like that," she warned.

"Kaeya and I...we knew nothing could happen, at least for the moment," he continued his story, actually finding it easy to talk to Donna for some reason, "But we still 'courted' as she used to say. We kissed, we had small dates on parts of the Monsoon, but it never went beyond that," he turned serious at the last words, "Never. I had plans for us, I wanted to marry her and take her away and show her the universe...but it never happened," Donna set a hand on his arm for encouragement, "One day my parents decided to arrange a marriage for me, claiming it for the best. Of course they didn't know I'd been secretly visiting the princess of the planet most Time Lords despised. They'd chosen a woman for me, a 'proper' Time Lady."

"Did you tell them?" Donna asked quietly.

"I didn't have plans to tell my father, he was one to truly advocate against Moontsays. But my mother, she...was neutral. She never said anything kind but never anything bad about Moontsays. I wanted to tell her, but..." the Doctor shrugged and looked down, "...I was a coward. I felt everything was out of my control. There was a bride chosen, my bride apparently, and I was to marry her."

"What did you do, then?"

"I ran straight for Kaeya," he swallowed, "She was waiting for me like always, this big smile on her face as soon as I stepped out...but then she saw me...and she knew something was wrong."

"You told her," Donna gave a small, sad smile, "You did the right thing, you know? Most men would have simply stopped coming altogether, or worse...lie to her about it."

"She was the only one I couldn't lie to. I told her everything, and...you know how I told you she'd let Minerva and I be if we really wished?" he asked and Donna nodded, "I know she would do that because that's exactly what she did the first time. She actually encouraged me to marry another woman," he bitterly laughed, "That was Kaeya, too sweet for her own good."

"Like Minerva," Donna remembered his words from the beginning.

The Doctor nodded, "Kaeya didn't get angry, she didn't yell, she just...told me to go marry."

"Oh, that's...that's awful," Donna couldn't really find any more to say about that. There was nothing to be said. The woman gave up her love without a fight, just like the Doctor assured she would this time around when she'd find Minerva.

"After that, all our courting ended," the Doctor continued, this time uncaring if Donna was listening.

He simply wanted to get it off his chest, let the emotions take over once and for all to finally stop thinking of the princess. Donna had been right, he needed to stop bottling it and just let it go.

"Anything that went beyond friendship vanished between us," the Doctor said, "I didn't want to stop seeing her, even if friends was the only thing we would ever be. But before getting married, I met my bride-to-be and I told her _everything_."

"You did that!?" Donna blinked, "Isn't that a big no-no!?"

"I thought maybe if I told her she'd break things off and I'd be free again..." the Doctor shook his head, "...but she told me it was fine. She had no intention to break what ever was going on with Kaeya and I. She didn't want to be married, she apparently had had her own love who passed away. She wanted no love from me, she said she was only doing this for her family. But there was never to be any love between us. Actually," he took a breath, "She encouraged me to go see Kaeya whenever I could. She understood perfectly what it was to have a real love."

"That's big of her," Donna remarked.

"She was a good woman, I never had one complaint about her. Admitting, if I had to be in an arranged marriage it would've been with her. She understood what my situation was like, the only difference being her love had died a couple months before her family told her about the arranged marriage. There was only thing she wanted in the world," the Doctor took in a breath, "A child. She wanted a child to dedicate her life to."

"Oh, see she didn't go light on the question," Donna gave a small chuckle.

"As a wife she had a right," the Doctor sighed, "But every time I saw my children, I couldn't help wonder what they would be like if they were..."

"Kaeya's?" Donna raised an eyebrow, smiling when the Doctor nodded, "It was impossible not to think of that."

"Throughout all that time, all those centuries, Kaeya was there for me. She loved seeing the pictures of my children, even grandchildren. She said she loved them because they were mine, and I knew she was telling the truth. She met one of them, you know."

"She did?" Donna blinked, "What happened!?"

"She met my granddaughter, Susan," the Doctor let a small laugh as he remembered at day, "Along with her two teachers, our current companions at the moment. They got along so well it stunned me."

"You expected some cat-fight or something?"

"No, Susan wasn't the violent type, but...this was a woman that was not her grandmother. Obviously, I was a bit afraid of what could happen," the Doctor smiled as he sighed in content, "But Kaeya was so kind, so welcoming. They grew to be very close, Kaeya even admitted once to me that she liked to pretend that Susan was _our_ granddaughter."

"Did she ever...marry herself?" Donna curiously asked, "Have any grandchildren of her own?"

"No," he shook his head, "She remained unwed her entire life. She claimed she didn't want anyone else that wasn't me. I told her, I begged her, to make her own life. I even offered to stop visiting her if that would help her move on..."

"And what she say?" Donna could guess the answer by his shameful face.

"Never," he whispered, "She stayed single and waited for me to visit. After things ended with my marriage, I tried to tell her she needed to make her own life. Heck, I even decided to age just so that she could distance herself from me."

"You 'decided' to age?" Donna raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't."

"Well, the first incarnation you can decide whether or not you want to age, of course if you do decide to age ultimately you'll have to regenerate due to old-age."

"And you thought Kaeya would be that shallow she'd stop loving you because of some wrinkles and gray hair," Donna said in amusement.

"I made the mistake," the Doctor nodded, "She never stopped, despite the little phases I went through. Each incarnation she greeted me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek, nothing beyond that though. We kept true to our word, friendship only. She died when I was so far away, at least I thought she did, and I've lived with that guilt for so long now."

"But she's coming back," Donna reminded, "And you think of her because of your guilt. Of course there's going to be similarities between her and Minerva but that doesn't mean anything bad. I bet there's similarities between Minerva and I."

"Oh, there are," he cut her off, "Both bold, sassy-"

"I'd be very careful with your words, spaceman," Donna wagged a finger, "But my point is, let the past go. Kaeya is coming back and eventually she will make her own life. The past is the past, it's okay to spare her a thought now and then," she set a hand on his arm.

"But why now? Why when I'm happy am I thinking of her?" he insisted.

"There's no real answer for that," Donna sighed, "But perhaps it's because, like you said, that love with her was never lived, and now that you've found someone you can have...old memories come back. But don't fret about it."

"Should I tell Minerva of this?" he turned to her, nervously awaiting an answer.

"I think only you can decide that," she pointed, "I won't say anything, I'm gonna say that right now. It's not my story to tell."

"I'm afraid, Donna," he admitted, "I'm afraid of how she'll react to it."

"Just think on what's right for her and you, you'll figure it out," Donna assured and gave him a hug, practically knowing what he was going to do already.

~ 0 ~

Eventually, the Doctor and Donna had found Minerva back at the park who had no idea they never went on that horse-riding Donna had talked about. Instead, they found she had also changed from her kimono, claiming it had gotten cold. She had grabbed a green, loose blouse with a black three-quarter sleeved blazer, and her silver necklace. She wore dark blue jeans and black, knee length boots with a small heel. Her hair remained in its bun although with the rubbing she had just done, it grew messier at the top.

The trio were looking at a nearby pond back in the woods, one that seemed to be chuck-full of fishes, even several frogs on their lily pads. Donna was really engulfed in them, hearing the Doctor explain what each fish was and what they did. Minerva was also interested...but she couldn't help feel like something was watching them. Every now and then she would look around in case there actually was someone stalking them. But there was absolutely nothing...and then...

She heard whispers...in her head.

It was like a couple voices were overlapping with each other, all trying to say something but nothing was coherent. She rubbed her temple, happening to look back and see a...a...blue light? Yes, it was a blue light. And it seemed to almost...glow. It was like a blob of blue light just floating in midair.

She knew that light, at least she think she did. It was the same one that had appeared in the Valiant, not to mention the one that had teleported her out of the Titanic spaceship. But what was it doing here? And why did she feel like it calling her? Without thinking, she found herself walking away from the Doctor and Donna, the two distracted to notice her leave.

Minerva was determined to see what exactly that light was, why it had chosen to save her. She walked further into the woods, trying to pay attention to the whispers she kept hearing. However, everything was so jumbled up she couldn't make out anything coherent. She came to a stop in a small clearing where the blue light stayed by some trees ahead of her.

"Who are you?" she decided to speak out in a calm way. If she angered what ever it was she may regret it and that was something she didn't want, "Listen, I guess you're alive, looks like it," she studied the light, "What do you want?"

The blue light glowed at her words, consuming the trees ahead of her. Ice started emerging from the roots, quickly rapping itself around the trunks...branches...leaves...

And then it rushed front the roots to the ground, almost chasing towards Minerva.

Minerva screamed and jumped back, "What are you!?" she cried, feeling her chest tighten for some reason. She felt... _cold_. She placed her hand over her heart, feeling it compress her chest...making it harder to breath.

"Minerva!?" she could hear the Doctor call, Donna calling after her a second later.

"H-here!" Minerva tried to yell but the air was leaving her body rapidly. She fell to her knees, her hand clutching her chest. The light reached up to her knees, just barely touching her.

She screamed again.

She could have sworn the ice _hissed_ , like it was also in pain. She stared at the light suddenly rush away from her, almost _running away_ her. She blinked, hugging herself while she shivered, her eyes watching the light seemingly fading...in a near sad manner. With it, the ice started disappearing into nothing.

"There you are!" the Doctor ran out from behind, dropping beside her to check what was wrong. He'd only heard her first scream and immediately realized she wasn't with then anymore, so he bolted to find her.

Minerva trembled as she pointed ahead, the Doctor turning just as Donna arrived to see the last of the ice from the tree's leaves disappearing.

"What the hell is that!?" Donna gaped.

"It was the light, the blue light from the Titanic" Minerva looked at the Doctor, "I think...I think it was hurt. It touched me and it got hurt, just like me. Doctor my chest hurts, a lot," she screwed her eyes shut from the pain, "It's like I can't breath!"

The Doctor knew it was the crystal complicating it for her and quickly took her into his arms. In extreme cases like these he could treat it like asthma and give her an inhaler. But he needed the TARDIS and so he quickly headed to the box, "It's okay, it's okay, shhh," he rubbed her back.

Donna had stayed behind and frowned as she stared ahead, tilting her head in confusion. She looked around and saw a small spot where ice had remained near a trunk of a tree.

"Donna!" he heard the Doctor shout for her.

Donna quickly turned and ran to catch up with the pair, "Is she going to be alright?" she looked at the barely conscious Minerva.

"Yeah, I just have to get her somewhere warm and give her an inhaler," the Doctor replied with haste.

"But I don't want to leave the festival," Minerva complained quietly.

"You're not staying, clever girl," he shook his head.

"Please, I want to stay in the festival."

"Minerva, I'm putting you to bed and that's that," the Doctor declared. But with that look she was giving him, a sad hopeful look, with her face stained of tears...he knew it wouldn't be easy to keep his word.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was reading over Minerva's test results in the TARDIS med-bay, heavily sighing as he reached the end.

"Well?" Donna asked, standing beside him.

She had returned from checking on Minerva in her room, the girl asleep with dozens of blankets around her and on, her room's heater on full blast. To her, it literally felt like the freaking sun, but for Minerva...it seemed just right.

"Same as always, simply the crystal," the Doctor laid down the papers on the table in front of them, "And that I'm useless. Nothing new there!" he crumpled up the papers and threw it to a wall.

Donna laid a hand on his arm, "Hey, it's not your fault. You're doing everything you can."

But the Doctor shook his head, he was utterly frustrated because he couldn't do anything for Minerva. The only thing he can do is bundle her up in blankets and blast a heater, fat lot of good that was! He was useless because the one person he truly lo...cared for, was in danger and he couldn't do a damn thing. He couldn't even figure out what that little blue light was!

"It's alright," Donna cut into his thoughts.

"I should be able to cure her," he muttered, "She shouldn't have to live like this...I..."

"But she's happy, and that's what matters."

"Is she? Is she truly happy, Donna? Because I know anyone who lived like this wouldn't be too happy."

"Minerva _is_ happy. And you wanna know why?"

"Enlighten me."

"Because she's with _you_ ," Donna smiled when the man's head snapped to hers, actually looking _surprised_ which only made her laugh, "Doctor, she's told me all about you two and how you ended up together. The girl practically beams when you enter the room. And right now, when she feels 'sick', the only thing she wants to feel better is _you_. You think you're not doing anything for her but you are, you're really helping her just by being with her. Sooo, with that being said," she moved behind him and started pushing him for the doorway, "Go and see if she's woken up yet and make her feel better."

"Donna Noble you are something," he had to smile at the ginger as he was pushed.

"Yeah, yeah, temporal temp, non-important, blah, blah, now go!" she pushed him out to the hallway.

"Yes, but before," he spun around to face her, plopping a kiss on her forehead, "You are _very_ important and I shall not have you running around my TARDIS without knowing so!"

She smiled softly, touched at his determination, "Thank you, spaceman."

"You're welcome," he nodded and went off to find his Clever Girl.

He went straight to her room, opening it just slightly to poke his head inside...only to see her bed was completely _empty._

"Minerva?" he called, now coming inside. He looked around and saw no one so he went for the bathroom door, knocking on it several times, "Minerva? Are you in there?" he knocked again and awaited for an answer that never came. Cautiously, he opened the door just a crack, in case she hadn't heard him, "Minerva?" he poked his head inside, seeing no one around and so coming inside. He walked around, seeing nothing.

Where had that Clever Girl gotten to?

~ 0 ~

Minerva rested her back against a tree, her legs propped up to her chest, and her head tilted up as she stared at the dark sky above. She did her best to ignore her shivers or trembles, even if they were small she did still feel cold. She told the Doctor she didn't want to leave the festival yet, and even as the Martian refused to let her stay...he had kept the TARDIS in the festival where they had originally arrived. So, when she woken up and realized neither him or Donna were around...she made her escape.

But as she kept looking up to the sky, her mind seemed to drift back at the blue light she encountered earlier. That light...it felt...odd. It felt familiar in a way, but then again it had protected her back in the Titanic ship so she figured that was the reason behind it. However, she kept thinking on the noise of pain it had given when it touched her. It sounded like it had been in as much pain as she'd been. But that begged the question of _why_ it had tried to touch her. Had it known that it would hurt both parties? Why had it even tried to touch her in the first place? For what purpose? The light was active, that much she knew, classified as alive who knew...but it had made a conscious move towards her. It even talked. She was sure those whispers she heard in her head were coming from the light, but what did it mean?

"I thought I'd find you here," the Doctor came around the tree, startling her out of her thoughts.

She looked up with an apologetic smile for her escape, "You stayed in the festival..."

"Of course I did, my Clever Girl asked me not to go," he held a red blanket in his arms, "I also assumed you had made your escape so quickly that you didn't bother getting something warm," he knelt down beside her and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

"Maybe," she confessed, biting her lip, "Are you mad?"

"No, of course not," he took a seat beside her, "Though I still say you should've stayed in your room where it was warm."

"That's boring," she scowled, "Boo. I wanted to come out and watch the rest of the festival..."

"While you shivered?" he pointed to her trembling body.

"Petty side effect," she waved him off, "Plus, I've got a Martian who always keeps me warm," she smiled slyly.

He caught her smile and shook his head, "You just love testing me, don't you?"

"Because you always fail me when talking about recreational mathematics, yes, I do."

"It's really not that hard, Minerva. I explained to you what the prime numbers was and-"

"La, la, la, la, la," Minerva covered her ears, "La, la, la, no math at a festival, la, la, la-"

The Doctor simply turned her head and kissed her. Minerva laughed against their kiss, she always won that argument. Every time one of the Doctor's lessons were about mathematics, she would push it aside or act so annoying that the man really only had the option of kissing her to make her shut up. Oh well...

"You are sneaky," he rolled on top of her, either legs of his on her sides so he wouldn't hurt her. He didn't weigh too much, at least he liked to think he didn't.

"You're the one that swiftly moved over me," Minerva bit her lip as the Martian neared her lips again.

"Are you still cold?"

She nodded, "My forehead is cold," so the Doctor moved up to kiss her forehead, "And my temples," two kisses were given to her temples, "My cheeks are cold too," she giggled as he kissed her cheeks, "And then these are _extremely_ cold," she tapped her lips.

"You are very demanding aren't you?"

"Mhm."

"Well, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't keep my Clever Girl warm?"

"A very bad one..." Minerva smiled sweetly.

He just laughed and kissed her again. This time, though, he didn't plan on giving her a short little kiss, no...

Minerva's giggle broke through the kiss at the sensation of the Doctor's fingers brushing repeatedly on her sides, "Doctor," she gasped as his fingers moved to her back. Her skin was turning into goosebumps, but the good kind...a good set of chills she never experienced before, chills he provoked with his soft fingers.

Suddenly, though, the Doctor pulled away, feeling guilty of everything he told Donna earlier in the day...something that Minerva had a right to know about as well. He knew what was right. He was already hiding something monumentally big from her, the least he could was tell her of the lesser secret.

"What's going on with you, Martian?" Minerva sighed, her fingers tracing the sides of his face, "You've been acting weird lately, an extra weird for you."

"Minerva, there's something I need to tell you," he moved beside her, wondering if he would be able to hold her hand after he told her about Kaeya.

"What is it?"

"First, I just want you to know that I'm happy with you, okay?" he decided to go for her hand and hold it. At least if she got angry he would have the satisfaction he'd held her hand.

"I'm happy with you too," she smiled and gripped his hand.

"Minerva, I've..." he took a deep breath and let everything go as Donna had said, "...I've been thinking of Kaeya a lot more lately," he shut his eyes and awaited for the worst, even unconsciously gripping her hand in case she wanted to snatch it away from him.

"And?" Minerva blinked.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and turned completely to face her, "And? What do you mean 'and'?"

"Just what it means," she shrugged.

"Minerva, I just told you I'm thinking about Kaeya, and..."

"You expected me to yell at you or something?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, sighing when the Doctor nodded, "I'll admit, it isn't to my greatest like that you think about her but it's natural. We're searching for her and clearly that's going to bring up some old thoughts about her. But thank you for telling me this," she rested a hand on his cheek, "I feel so special because you were honest with me. Frankly, I'd be a upset if you denied that you've been thinking about her."

"You would be?" he made a face of confusion.

Minerva nodded, "Because then you'd be lying to me," immediately, the Doctor's eyes darted to the side in guilt of his secret. She had no idea of the crystal that laid in her heart and he didn't want to think of what she'd do when she found out, "So it's okay, Martian, I'm not angry," Minerva assured him, "And thank you for taking me into consideration of all this."

"You're not...upset or anything?" he knew a smart person would stop insisting but he needed to make sure she was alright.

"No, truthfully, I've been thinking of her too," she admitted, "There's a lot of things that don't make sense about her encounter with the Master."

"But my thoughts aren't from that moment..." he said shamefully.

"They're from your time together," she finished what he couldn't, "It's okay, Martian. I wouldn't want you to act like nothing happened between you and her. That would be good for no one. I like being realistic, you know that. You think of your ex-girlfriend, to put it in simple terms. Big deal."

The Doctor took her hand off his face and gave it a kiss, "You are absolutely wonderful."

"And you are absolutely brilliant," she countered.

The Doctor leaned forwards and rested his forehead on hers, one of his hands still clutching Minerva's, his other making a trail up and down the side of her face. Her piercing jade-green eyes looked up at him with such softness and kindness in them it made him nearly melt. He felt like he could stay in this spot for an eternity as long as Minerva was right in front of him, the way she was. There were so many feelings rushing through him he didn't know what to say next, or what he could do.

"Minerva, I think I l..."

However, Donna approached the two with a big, red, rectangular gift box in her arms, "Oi!" she hollered, "There you are!"

The Doctor looked back at the ginger and saw the box, his eyes widening when he saw the box, "N-n-n-no! What are you doing with that? That wasn't for tonight!"

"What was?" Minerva asked, looking at him with confusion.

Donna took a seat in front of the two, leaving just enough space between them to place the box in, "Well the TARDIS was humming or whatever it does and then she showed me the gift," Donna explained, "Now what is it?" she leaned forwards with a smile that just screamed curiosity.

"It's not for you," the Doctor snapped then sighed, looking at Minerva, "It was for _you_."

"Me? But...it's not my birthday, it's not Christmas, no anniversaries or anything..." Minerva blinked, considering any other possible special occasion that could require a present.

The Doctor chuckled as he watched her grow more concerned she'd missed something, "No silly, I just wanted to surprise you. You've been a bit depressed lately so I figured I could help boost your mood up with that," he nodded to the gift.

"In that case, open it!" Donna exclaimed and patted the box.

Minerva sheepishly reached for the present and placed it on her lap, slowly ripping off the wrapping paper from the corners. She could make out a rather large square as she pulled down the paper, but when she opened it...her mouth hung open.

"A new Wahoo," she whispered, passing a hand down the box.

Donna scowled and tilted her head, "What is it?"

"It's um, an old game I used to play with my grandfather when I was a kid. A guy gave me one of these last year for my birthday but...it got left behind in 1969," Minerva looked at the Doctor, smiling softly, "Did you buy me a new one?"

"I figured what could make my Clever Girl happier than her favorite childhood game board?"

She leaned over and gently kissed him, " _That_ could have," she whispered.

"I don't get it," Donna shook her head. How could a silly little game board make everything better? "Minerva, if you already had one why would you want another one?"

"It was left behind in 1969," Minerva reminded, "We were stuck there for a couple of months and a friend I made gave me one of these for my birthday. Though if I do recall..." she looked at the Doctor, "...it had made some one a tad upset..."

"Upset? Why would you be upset?" Donna asked him.

"Because it made her happy and it wasn't _me_ that made her happy," he grumbled.

Just remembering that moment where Minerva had become so excited for the present that Jerome gave her made his blood boil. He wasn't upset she was happy, no. He loved seeing her happy, even back then. But it irritated him knowing that it hadn't been _him_ that made her so excited and happy. It had been another man, another man that clearly had feelings for her and managed to snag a date with her meanwhile himself couldn't even confess his own feelings for her.

He loathed those days in 1969 where Minerva was closer to another man that wasn't _him_. Only _he_ was allowed to make her smile, comfort, touch her, hug her, only him. And to see Minerva going on a _date_ with Jerome and not him was, was... _infuriating_. Yes, infuriating because that meant Minerva could've fallen for Jerome and then that would lead to boyfriend and girlfriend and _that_ was something the Doctor wouldn't stand for. That date of hers had been the breaking point of his indecision; the Doctor wanted Minerva to fall for _him_ and _only_ him. He wanted to be the one to ask her on a date, to give her that first-date kiss and hopefully become a boyfriend to her...and _not_ Jerome. He was a helpless jealous idiot, but for Minerva he would be anything.

"Jerome was a nice," Minerva shrugged, biting back her laugh when the Doctor snapped his head to her, already annoyed he was talking about the man, "But I had my feelings somewhere else...on a certain _Martian_ ," she looked at him with a sheepish smile, "Now _he_ made me truly happy when he decided to play with me."

"Well can you teach me how to play?" Donna asked, taking the box from Minerva to look at it, "It looks weird..."

"It's fun, I promise," Minerva assured, gesturing her to start opening it. She then turned to the Doctor, "And you, thank you so much," she lunged on him when she kissed him, successfully pushing him to the ground, "Thank you!" she peppered kissed his entire face.

The Doctor laughed as he reached for her face, stopping her and unfortunately her kisses, "Glad you liked it."

"I promise I won't lose it," she swore before giving him one last deep kiss that left him with a burning desire for more. She sat up and started helping Donna set up the game, "Donna, you're gonna love this!"

The Doctor sat up and reached for the blanket Minerva had dropped behind. He wrapped it around her and scooted closer to her, watching her ecstatically rambling to Donna the instructions for the game. She truly did sound like him when she spoke that fast and excitedly, but she sounded so much better simply because it was _her._

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! What an eventful weekend it's been, hasn't it? I don't know about anyone else but I've watched the trailer for the next season and I CANNOT stop watching it! It looks amazing! Honestly, it looks better than season 8 *-*. I just want to see Capaldi playing that guitar dear lord it all looks so cool! I want to pull my hair out because they're at SDCC which is only 2 hours away from me and yet I'm stuck in front of a computer for being broke and unable to drive agh. Next year I'll go *says determinedly and hopeful*

Anyways, I've hoped the chapter was to your liking. I thought it was time to give some kind of story of Kaeya and the Doctor, there'll be another chapter later on in the story about them but told by a different person ;)

Kaeya could or could not be back hmm, which would be? All of her, part of her, or nothing yet? I'll leave that up to you to think about ^.^

Lol you have a 'fluff cavity', (jk I am no where near hilarious). I know, I adore Donna more out of all the companions from Rose and up. River, River, River, wonder what will happen with her. Suppose we'll have to wait and see!

Gotta say, spoiler alert, but the next chapter (also an original) is my favorite chapter out of the story (well...in the top faves, but it's really a high one). There'll be new yet familiar characters, ice and flowers...and paint. Lots and lots of paint. There'll be an ending you may like...or may not...or may ;)

I should stop putting doubt, huh?

Oh well, until next time!


	8. Colorful Words

A young woman with medium-length, curly, dark brown hair stood behind a counter of a flower shop. Her face had silver lines on either side of her cheeks and the back of her hands. She sat on a high stool and had her arms folded over the counter with her chin resting over her hands, blankly staring at a single pink flower in a pot in front of her. Her blue-green eyes were concentrating heavily on the flower, seemingly determined.

The flower shop she was in was an entirely blue room, iced room. Its walls were a clear crystal wall while the floors were a baby-blue crystal floor. There were tables and shelves filled with flowers of all types, non-human of course. There were some flowers on the floor in large groups, others in certain patterns, but all beautifully kept.

"Valyn, quit staring at the flower like that, it doesn't work that way," another woman with short, straight black hair emerged from the backdoor of the shop. She held a box that she set on the counter's edge.

The brunette looked up with a sigh, "But aunt-"

"Your powers will come eventually. Don't try to push it," the woman reprimanded lightly as she reached under the counter for her purse.

"You know I am _way_ past my due date for my powers," Valyn insisted, "My friends can do water, ice, snow, everything now and they started _centuries_ ago."

Valyn's aunt rolled her eyes, "Yes, but I bet they didn't force them on each other. Now, you're in charge of the shop for a couple hours today. I've got some errands to do but I'll probably be back in the afternoon. You can handle it right?"

Valyn nodded, "Yes, I can. I've been helping you for quite some time now."

"Good," Valyn's aunt put her purse over her shoulder and headed for the doors. She opened one of them up then looked back as her niece sighed and resumed staring at the flower, "Valyn, really, don't fret. You know, I had a friend whose powers didn't come that early. She passed her coming-of-age with no powers at all, until one day...poof, there they came."

Valyn smiled, "Yeah, I know the story. The princess was a late bloomer."

Valyn's aunt smiled back, her smile saddening up slowly, "Yeah..."

"Aunt Zohar, are you alright?"

Quickly, Zohar resumed her bright smile and nodded, "Yes, I'm fine. Don't get into trouble, now," she wagged a finger then walked out.

~ 0 ~

The trio were in the TARDIS console room, the Doctor preparing them for their newest adventure and explaining the 'necessities' they'd apparently need.

"So where are we going this time that requires us to wear 'Saris'?" Minerva crossed her arms, Donna not looking to joyful of the ideas either.

Although, Donna theorized it was more of the Doctor wanting Minerva to wear those clothes that revealed more of her skin. Because if it was for that, then she didn't see the need for herself to wear one.

"It's a surprise," the Doctor kept insisting.

He didn't understand why Minerva was so keen on always trying to guess his surprises. Alright, he knew it was her outrageously high curiosity that always got the best of her but...couldn't he just, for once, give a surprise where she didn't ask too many questions? But he knew how she was and her mouth that seemed just as big as his was, she wouldn't quit asking.

"Doctor, I know you keep bringing us to all these surprise places because you think I'm still down in the dumps, but I'm better now," Minerva walked over to him, taking his hand with a warm kiss on his lips afterwards, "You've made sure of that."

He beamed, he was doing an excellent job! After Japan, he had made sure all the trips they took were nice and fun, and so far...so good! There was no pain in her heart or head, nor radical emotions, nor brief snippets of Kaeya seeping through. Everything was just perfect.

"Let's go somewhere where we don't need to dress up, I'm fine just the way I am," she gestured to herself.

She wore a white, loose blouse with three quarters sleeves, blue jeans and dark brown, ankle length boots. She was very good like that and didn't see the need to dress up.

"Yes you are," the Doctor looked her over with a grin.

"Eyes up, soldier!" Donna called, making him blush yet still earn a short glare.

"Leave him alone, Donna," Minerva turned around, a fake scolding look on her face.

"Oi, I'm looking out for you," the ginger moved around the console, "Men just look and look and look until they nab you and then...hm," she waved them off.

"You insult me, Donna," the Doctor frowned, actually offended by her statement, "Don't clump me with the rest of the pathetic womanizers on your planet. I don't think like that, I care _more_ for Minerva. In fact, I lo..." he bit his tongue, startled by what he was about to say.

...was he about to say what he thought he was about to say?

"You what?" Minerva looked back at him, confused why he had stopped so sudden. She was quite liking his little lecture.

Donna, on the other hand, stood across them with quite the smirk. Oh she knew exactly what that spaceman was about to blurt...perhaps she should push a little farther to get the whole word out.

"Um, n-nothing," the Doctor came out of his stupor with a shake of his head. He took Minerva's hand and pulled her into his arms, "I would _never_ do that to you and you know it," he Eskimo kissed her.

"I know that, silly," she chuckled, "It's nice to know I have a perfect gentleman as my boyfriend. Donna was only messing with you if you didn't realize it."

"I really was," Donna agreed.

"Why do you feel the need to do that?" the Doctor glanced at her with a small sigh.

"Frankly...because I'm bored."

Minerva laughed while the Doctor frowned, "Why don't we get started on that surprise, huh?" he turned to the console, "I'm telling you you're going to love it, especially you Minerva."

"Why?"

"Let's just say it has something to do with your talents..." he grabbed a lever and moved to pull it down when the TARDIS made a humming a sound, one that sounded like she was saying "she didn't think so".

"What's going on!?" Donna cried as she clung onto the console, the box shaking even more violent than usual.

"I have no idea!" the Doctor yelled, currently clinging to the console with one hand while his other arm was wrapped around Minerva.

The TARDIS just hummed softly, wanting to assure them it would be alright, but alas...it wasn't as if she could ever speak to them, right? When the box came to a halt, everyone landed on the floor with a thud, a hum of apology given to them after a brief moment of silence.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked Minerva as they stood up, checking her himself even though she nodded okay, "Donna?" he looked over and saw the ginger nodding as well, standing to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Though I can't promise my breakfast is going to stay in me," she made a face and turned to the door, "So where are we exactly?"

"We could always check the monitor," Minerva nodded to the screen just a few inches away from her and the Doctor.

"Or!" Donna exclaimed and rushed to the doors, pulling them open.

"What's out there?" the Doctor called as he and Minerva moved to joined her.

"C-c-c-cold!" Donna shivered and ran off to the corridors, "Sweater time!"

"Cold?" the Doctor mumbled, already disliking the place as he thought of Minerva. He poked his head out and saw a great city made entirely of ice.

"This is sort of like the Silver Monsoon," Minerva remarked as she stepped out, "Only this one actually has a population...and it's still cold," she hugged herself.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" the Doctor frowned.

He knew the TARDIS was fond of Minerva, cared for her like she was one of his own people. So, if she knew Minerva should stay away from all cold areas why would the TARDIS bring her to a place like this?

"It's pretty though, better than the Monsoon," Minerva to steps forwards.

There were buildings of ice, actual people visible through the windows. Everything was of ice, the street poles, shops, benches, even street lights. The sky was a blazing baby blue with just the tiniest spot of a small sun, a great large gray, crescent moon looking down the planet.

The streets were crowded with aliens, all humanoid like the Monsoon, and even the Doctor's home and Minerva's. Although these people were more pale, and dressed...rather odd. Their bodies were covered with ice prints, like tattoos, sporadically on their arms and cheeks. Their attire seemed to be made of ice and it made Minerva wondered if it poked them with its pointy edges.

"It looks likes a winter wonderland," Minerva chuckled.

"We should go," the Doctor tried pulling her back to the TARDIS. He wanted to avoid any other relapse the best he could and he knew this would not be the place to avoid it.

"Here Minerva," Donna reappeared and stepped out wearing a dark grey coat, Minerva's blue coat in her arm.

"Thank you," Minerva took her coat and slipped it on.

"Did we figure out where we are?" Donna asked, stuffing her hands in her pockets arms she took a look around.

"No, because we're leaving," the Doctor took Minerva's hand and walked them for the TARDIS.

"I don't think that's wise," Minerva stopped and forced him to halt as well, "The TARDIS clearly wanted to bring us here for a reason. Don't you think we should try and see what it was?"

But the Doctor couldn't focus on whatever the box wanted them to do. He simply prioritized Minerva above all and since it wasn't good for her to be around cold areas, all his mind was telling him to do was get out.

"She's right," Donna agreed, "Your box purposely brought us here and I'd like to know why."

"I feel fine," Minerva whispered to him, knowing she was the reason for his hesitance, "Honest," she used her hand in his to pull him back.

"So that's that then," Donna went ahead and closed the TARDIS doors, "Where should we go first?"

"Anywhere," Minerva looked around, "This city looks grand! Oh! And look," she pulled the Doctor towards an ice pole that bore a holographic screen, "I think it's the news."

"Oh no who is that?" Donna moved over to the pair.

There was a reporter, at least they thought it was, talking to an elderly man, one young man and two young women, all dressed in royal-looking clothing...all of them wearing crowns.

"Who are they?" Minerva asked curiously.

"Scuse me," Donna stopped a passing woman from the street, "Hello, we're kinda tourists around here. Could you please tell us who they are?" she pointed to the screen.

"If you're a tourist than you haven't done much research, have you?" the woman raised an eyebrow, the trio shaking their heads simultaneously, "That's the king and his children," she explained, "King Altair, his son, prince Nerio, and his daughters, the princesses Orianna and Veren."

"Oh, he's got some lookers," Donna breathed at the sight of the prince, looking at Minerva who quickly nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he's cute," Minerva mumbled, both of them laughing afterwards.

The woman nodded and continued on her way. The Doctor waited for the women to stop staring at the screen, although he admitted he was more concerned with how Minerva didn't tear her gaze from the screen...with the prince...

"Can we meet him?" Donna asked and looked back, "Please?"

"No!" he snatched Minerva's hand, pulling her back to his side.

"I meant for _me_ ," Donna pointed to herself, ignoring the man's jealousy.

"No because everyone always tries to go after my Clever Girl. But guess what, she's _mine_ ," he moved Minerva in front of him, her back to his chest, his arms wrapped securely around her.

Minerva just laughed and tilted her head up to see the Martian, "You're so easily jealous it's hilarious."

"I bet if I was fawning over one of those princesses you wouldn't be laughing," he muttered. He winced when he thought of Kaeya and knew that wasn't the best sentence.

"No, I'd probably just kill them," Minerva shrugged, sounding so casual it made Donna blink with surprise.

"Murderous," the ginger scolded.

Minerva chuckled, "I was joking!"

"Let's just go and explore," the Doctor dropped a kiss on her head and walked ahead.

He didn't want to be here, but if there was something to see then he had to get it over with. The faster he was done, the faster he could get Minerva away from the planet.

~ 0 ~

Valyn stood behind the counter and was writing into a note pad of the inventory for the week. Oh, the planet was rather fond of her aunt's flowers, their original Moontsay flowers.

She was so focused on the notepad that she didn't notice the blue light roaming over some purple flowers neatly organized on the floor.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor, you might want to see this," Donna stopped by an advertisement on an announcement board of a street.

"What?" the Doctor called back, he and Minerva several feet ahead of her.

"It's talking about the _Monsoon_ ," Donna turned to them.

The pair looked at each other with rapid blinking eyes. They quickly hurried back to where Donna was and took a look at the advertisement.

"It's talking about some flower shop," Donna read, "It's owned by one of the people of the Monsoon, should we check it out?" she knew of the search for the princess and just how much Minerva needed it, unbeknownst to the woman herself.

"I think this could help us," Minerva looked at the Doctor, "Let's go."

"But why would this be here?" the Doctor was a bit hesitant to plainly follow what an ad was going on about.

"Doctor, maybe this is where the Monsoon civilization escaped to," Minerva blinked, "Remember what Mayar said? Maybe this is the planet!"

"Well..." the Doctor looked around, "It is nearly cold to the Monsoon..." he started observing, "...the buildings are made of the same material...barely sun..."

"It is, isn't it?" Minerva started to smile, "And I bet if we go to this shop we'll meet a Moontsay! Don't you see, Doctor? We _have_ to go there!"

"This is why the TARDIS brought us then," Donna remarked.

"All the more reason to check it out," Minerva nodded and looked at the Doctor, "C'mon, Martian. We have work to do," she took his hand and led him off.

~ 0 ~

Valyn was fixing up a vase with yellow flowers on the counter when the door opened, the Doctor, Minerva and Donna walking in, "I'll be right with you," she informed and turned around with the vase to place it on one of the shelves.

The Doctor looked around and felt dejected at the sight of purple flowers with a glimmering silver middles on the floor. They were Kaeya's favorite flowers. It had been the flowers for which she'd even been named 'Kaeya'. It was the Monsoon's most prized flower and so it'd been fit for the princess to be named after the 'Monsoon flower'. The Doctor had always believed the purple flowers and Kaeya shared the same beauty, though Kaeya was always just a bit more. He hadn't seen one since...well, before the war had started. Now that he saw them he thought they looked out-of-place in this shop...on this planet. They belonged on the Monsoon, with its rightful owner tending to them like she always loved to do.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Minerva asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

Donna had gone about to inspect the place and while Minerva was curious to explore she'd noticed how the Doctor had fallen silent. She knew he was probably rethinking of the Monsoon and its princess. She felt awful she couldn't really do much to help in these situations. The most she could do (and would gladly do) was offer her support and simply be with him to comfort him.

"Yeah, yeah, fine," the Doctor mumbled, looking at her with a soft smile. He honestly felt much better just by looking at her with her big, green eyes, "But don't leave my side, alright?" she nodded and interlaced her fingers with his.

"Oi, Doctor!" Donna called from the other side.

At the name, Valyn's eyes widened and let the vase in her hands slip. The loud breaking noise of the vase hitting the floor startled the group, but the woman didn't care. She turned to face the Doctor, her eyes so wide it seemed like they could pop out of her head, " _You're_ the Doctor?" she asked, walking around the counter and moving forwards.

"Um...yes," he nodded slowly, moving in front of Minerva should the woman turn out to be one of the one's that despised him (which was probably likely).

"It's you? It's really you?" Valyn looked him up and down, "You changed your face, didn't you? Hm," she shrugged, "Well, clearly you've done it before...though I only saw one..."

"You know me?" he frowned, "And shouldn't you be hating me since you know who I am?"

"Doctor, don't question why she doesn't hate you," Donna called from her spot.

"You knew the princess," Valyn breathed, "You were part of the species that nearly cost my entire people. Oh, I know you."

"Did you know Kaeya personally?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"No, well...my aunt, my aunt was like a sister to the princess," Valyn swallowed hard, her eyes still locked on the Doctor, "But _I_...I saw you once," she whispered, "I wasn't supposed to, but I did..."

"So you caught them," Donna laughed, "So much for being secret meetings," she walked over and stood beside Minerva.

Valyn finally detached her gaze from the Doctor to glance at the other two women, "Who are you?" she questioned.

"Donna Noble, and that's Minerva Souza," the ginger replied.

"Humans?" Valyn blinked and reached for Donna's and Minerva's hands, immediately stinging them both with her ice cold hands.

"Blimey that's cold!" Minerva gritted her teeth, the cold actually hurting her for a moment.

"You'd get used to it," the Doctor said without thinking, wincing as he thought he'd make Minerva sad or something. He looked down at her with an apologetic expression only to see her smiling softly at him, as if telling him everything was alright.

"You're so warm..." Valyn mumbled as she studied the two humans, eyeing the interlaced hands the Doctor and Minerva had, "...I've never met humans before. They don't usually come around this planet because of the weather."

"Doesn't it bother you that you're always cold?" Donna wondered.

Valyn shrugged, indifferent of their odd looks, "This is how my people naturally are. We are of the cold, guarded by the moon's waves and winds. If we weren't naturally cold we'd die because every other planet isn't cold enough."

"Except for this one," the Doctor said.

"Actually..." Valyn sighed and returned to the counter to pick up the mess of the broken vase, "...when we first got here we were still accustomed to the Monsoon's coldness. A lot of the group didn't survive and just...died," she paused, "Those of us with a bit more cold were able to adapt a bit easier, and, well...here we are," she shrugged, "Adapted to this planet only."

"So all this time you've just been...here?" Minerva asked, "You've never tried going back home?"

"Home to what?" she nearly snapped as she turned to face the group behind the counter, "There's no one left. The Daleks made sure of that," her voice softened as she recalled the last day she'd been on her planet, "Anyone who wanted the Royal Family's crystal made sure nothing was left for us," the Doctor had looked away with guilt.

"How long have you been here?" Donna spoke to brake a silence that fell over them.

"Oh, um, couple centuries," Valyn answered, her eyes wandering to Minerva who was stroking the Doctor's arm, almost...soothing the man...

That couldn't be right.

"Is something wrong?" Donna noticed the hard look Valyn had with Minerva all of a sudden.

"I don't know, let's find out," Valyn leaned forwards on the counter, "What the hell is going on with you two?" she demanded from the pair.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, disliking the tone that had been directed out of the no where.

"You love the princess," Valyn said matter-of-factly.

"I did," the Doctor nodded.

"No, no," Valyn wagged a finger, "Why use the past tense? You love her even _now_. You're supposed to love her now!"

"I'm sorry but I've moved on," the Doctor the Doctor informed, wrapping an arm around Minerva's waist.

"Doctor," Minerva whispered, placing her hand over his hand around her waist and looking up at him, "Maybe we should get to the point about Kaeya.

"You can't just 'move on'," Valyn scoffed, "She's alive and you just _replaced_ her with a _human_?" she sneered as she looked Minerva over.

"Oi, don't be rude!" Donna snapped.

"You know she's alive?" Minerva whispered, only half-caring for the little comment she'd been given.

"Of course I know she's alive. My aunt's the one that helped her escape!" Valyn exclaimed, "Although know it looks like all the risks the princess took didn't even matter to you," she looked at the Doctor, "You replaced her with a bland ole human!"

"You need to stop right there!" the Doctor shouted at her, his grip on Minerva tightening in an instinctive move.

"Why, because I'm hurting her little feelings!?" Valyn stepped around the counter, "Aw, poor thing! She doesn't like hearing the truth? Because here's the truth," she glared at Minerva, "A love like the one I saw will never die. I saw them once and that was enough to know how in love they were. But if you don't believe me, here," she suddenly clapped her fingers of her both hands on one side of Minerva's temples and then her other hand flinging to the Doctor's, "See them for yourself."

* * *

 _Kaeya sat on the iced lake, cross-legged, with the Doctor beside her. She had a couple strings in her hands and was trying to make some sort of shape out of them...to no avail._

 _The Doctor laughed at her and tried reaching to take it away but she shooed him off, "No! I want to do it myself!" she exclaimed._

 _"Clearly, you need some help," the Doctor insisted._

 _"I can do it myself," she laughed as the string became knotted around one of her fingers, "This is all your fault!"_

 _"Mine?" he raised his eyebrows, "You're the one who doesn't let me help you."_

 _"You brought me this as a present and it's only frustrating me! Agh! Look!" she shifted to sit facing him, "Next time bring something easier to do! Oh! Like those big round things that the children play with on their waists."_

 _"You mean a hula hoop?"_

 _"Yes!" she nodded, "I could do that far easier than this!" she held her hands to show her strings hanging freely._

 _"Sorry, but this was what they had in the academy today. But if you'd let me try and help you..." the Doctor reached again._

 _"No!" she exclaimed and tried pushing him away._

 _He scooted closer and got on his knees to forcefully take the strings from her and finally show her how to form the shape correctly. Unfortunately, he lost his balance and nearly fell on her if she hadn't put her hands on his chest to keep him up. The thought of the game had been forgotten for another idea instead. The Doctor leaned down and gave her a small peck on her lips. Kaeya faintly smiled as he leaned down again to give her a second kiss. She responded to the kiss while her hands quickly went to remove the strings from her fingers._

 _"So much for the game," the Doctor mumbled to her._

 _She laughed though never stopped their kiss, her hands going up to his shoulders, "I like this game instead."_

 _He chuckled and proceeded to kiss her without stop while gently pushing her down to the ground._

* * *

"Stop!" Minerva pleaded and broke away from Valyn's touch, "Please, stop," she put a hand on her forehead as she tried to calm herself.

"Minerva, I'm sorry," the Doctor rushed to her side, almost begging her, "Please, I'm sorry-"

She shook her head and looked up at him with a smile, easily recognized as fake by him, "It's okay. You kissed...that...that's no odd thing...and, whatever else you did, that's...that's fi-"

" _Nothing_ like that happened," he quickly assured her once he saw where her thoughts had headed to, "We never... _ever_...went beyond a kiss, I swear."

"Doctor, it's fine," she tried to assure but it was no use. It was one thing to accept he had, had a deep love with another woman and to be realistic about what they did. But it was another thing, entirely different, to actually _see_ their love up-close.

The Doctor, upon seeing how hurt Minerva was, spun around to glare at Valyn, "What the hell was that for!?" he surprised everyone by backing up the woman with his hands on her shoulders up to the counter, "You hurt someone entirely innocent and what's more someone _I_ care for. Who the hell do you think you are you sadistic counter girl!?"

"Doctor," Donna blinked, unsure of who she should go to, whether Minerva to comfort her or to the Doctor to stop him before he did something he could regret.

Valyn pushed the Doctor's hands off her and glared right back, "Who the hell is _that_? I saw you and the princess when I was just a teenager and I thought it was wrong. You were a Time Lord, the most cruel species we've ever known about. But then my aunt came in and she stopped me from telling the king and queen about their daughter's secret lover. She convinced me that it was true, honest love and so I stayed quiet," she cast a glare to Minerva, "No matter how hard you try you will _never_ compare to the princess."

"I...I wasn't trying to..." Minerva quietly replied, remaining in her spot.

"Good, because you'd never win! Kaeya was a princess, she had all the kingdom to love her and praise her and what do you have? You don't even have the faintest of looks or skills that she had! Do you really think you could ever stay with him? You're nothing! Absolute _dust_!"

"ENOUGH!" the Doctor yelled and actually shook the woman to make her silent, "Speak another word to her and I promise you I _will_ become that cruel Time Lord you've all painted me to be."

"Go and defend her why don't you! How could you!?" she stood off the counter and hit him on the chest, "How could you lead Kaeya on like that? Do you know everything she did just so that she could find you!? She had to trigger the-" she quickly stopped and shook her head, "And for what, for you to go and find _her,_ " she nodded to Minerva, "To fool around with?"

"Shut up!" the Doctor pushed her again, "You are no one to guess my intentions with my _girlfriend_. You are a counter girl, a woman with no heart, no dignity, you don't know a _thing_ about me! But like I said, I will gladly make you regret those words and all it would take is a simple change of environment where you'll slowly die from the heat," he gritted his teeth.

"You'd become a murderer?" Valyn raise an eyebrow.

"For her I'd become anything," he assured, "And believe me, I've gotten rid of an entire species, one more woman would be nothing."

The sound of glass breaking made everything stop, the Doctor glancing to see Donna had thrown a vase against the wall and was staring back at them all with a discontent face and her hands on her hips.

Valyn frowned, "Hey! You're going to pay-"

"You," Donna pointed at her, "Shut up," she snapped, "And you," she looked at the Doctor, "Take a breath," she motioned with her eyes to Minerva behind them.

The Doctor turned to see Minerva staring down at the floor, "Clever Girl," he moved back to her.

"No," she snapped her head up and stepped away, shooing his hands away from her, "I think...I think I'm just gonna go outside."

"Oh we're leaving alright," he nodded and tried to move for her again.

"No," she said and he froze.

"No?"

"I think you have a lot to talk about with Valyn. I can go wait outside."

"I don't have anything to talk about with her," the Doctor snapped, glancing back at Valyn with a glare. The woman crossed her arms and glared right back...at Minerva.

"Doctor," Minerva gave him a meaningful look, "It's alright," she offered a meek smile, her eyes watery, "She can help," she swallowed hard, "I'll just be out and explore..."

"No, Minerva, I won't let you-"

"It's fine," she assured with a shaky voice and looked at Valyn, "I'm sorry if I offended you or Kaeya. It was never my intention to compare nor replace her," she blinked rapidly to keep her tears from breaking loose, "And I'm sorry," she choked out the last words and ran out of the shop.

"You're despicable," Donna spat to Valyn, "Doctor, you stay here and I'll go with Minerva. She's right, you need this for Kaeya and...for Minerva herself," she added the last part because she knew it was the only way the Doctor would actually consider staying in the shop, "I'll make sure she's fine," with a silent nod from the Doctor she hurried after Minerva.

The Doctor stared at the doors, his hearts breaking with Minerva's pain. She didn't need this, she didn't need to be insulted by some woman who clearly had no idea what she was saying. She hurt Minerva, the logical thing would be to hurt her back. He turned to Valyn with a death glare and stepped forwards, actually making Valyn shift from a slight fear of his gaze, "You see that?" he began, biting his tongue to keep himself from yelling, "That's my girlfriend. The woman you insulted to no means end and for no reason. And yet, _she **apologized**_ ," he laughed bitterly, "Can you believe that? She _apologized_ to _you_ ," oops, he had started to yell, "But that's Minerva, she'll apologize because she always thinks it's _her_ fault people dislike her or because she's done something wrong. That's my Minerva, the woman who is just so bloody kind she'll endure anyone's insults and then try to make _them_ feel better!"

"And who's fault is that?" Valyn raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor was fuming by now. He stepped forwards with his hands clenched and teeth gritted, his eyes wide with all the anger that filled them. Valyn stepped back, more frightened this time.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't make you suffer for what you just did?" he demanded in a dark tone.

"Valyn?" the door opened and in came the black-haired woman with blue eyes.

The Doctor looked back to find what he clearly knew was another Moontsay judging by the silver lines on her body.

"Oh, sorry, got a customer, then, don't mind me," Zohar raised her hands with an apologetic smile, "I'll just head on to the back."

"Who are you?" the Doctor turned to her completely.

"That's my aunt," Valyn snapped, Zohar confused on the hostile attitude her niece had, "She runs the place."

"Valyn, what's going on? Why so rude?" Zohar asked.

"It's him," Valyn gestured to the Doctor, "He came back. This is the Doctor."

Zohar's eyes widened and stumbled back, 'Wh-what?"

"He's the one the princess escaped for," Valyn continued, "Aunt Zohar, it's him!"

" _Zohar_?" the Doctor blinked with wide eyes, the same response Zohar had on her face with his introduction, "You're Zohar?" he inspected her appearance and realized it fit with the one Minerva said had helped Kaeya escape in the first place.

"You're the Doctor," Zohar started smiling, "Look at you, you've changed again," she stepped towards him, "Oh I bet Kaeya would love this one," she chuckled, "Oh it's so good to see you, meet you actually. Hi," she held her hand out for him.

"Aunt Zohar he has another woman now," Valyn informed sourly, still glaring at the Doctor.

Zohar blinked, "You...you what?"

"He has some other-"

"I'd watch your words if I were you," the Doctor looked back at her, "My threat still stands."

"He has a girlfriend now," Valyn took a breath and rolled her eyes, "Human, can you believe that?"

"Human?" Zohar repeated, all the meanwhile looking at the Doctor with a stunned yet familiarity, "You have a _human_ with you now?"

"Yes, and the threat of giving you a slow, painful death goes to you too," the Doctor warned before she spoke.

"Good luck," Valyn scoffed, "My aunt is the few of the Moontsays that have actually learned to adapt to warm climates."

"You learned to adapt?" it was the Doctor's turn to be stunned.

Zohar nodded, "After the war and seeing so many of my people dying off from the different climate I made sure to train myself to adapt. I can go basically anywhere I want now."

"How long did that take you?"

"Oh quite a while," she shook her head, "But that's not the point here, what are you doing?"

"Aunt Zohar, aren't you going to say something to him?" Valyn crossed her arms, "He's betrayed princess Kaeya."

"Valyn you have the afternoon free," Zohar waved her off, leaving Valyn shocked.

"Excuse me?"

Zohar looked at her with hard eyes, "I said go. I can already imagine your behavior towards this human."

"She deserved it!"

"No she didn't!" the Doctor yelled, making both women flinch, "Minerva is sweet and kind and she had no business being yelled at by some deranged woman."

"I understand and I'm sorry for my niece's words," Zohar quickly nodded, "If you'd like you can bring the human-"

"Minerva," he cut her off, "Her name is Minerva."

"Okay, Minerva," Zohar acknowledged, "Can come back here and will receive an apology directly from my niece's mouth."

Valyn's mouth fell open at those words, "No she will no-"

With a wave of a hand, Valyn found water being splashed on her face, Zohar turned to her, completely appalled with her, "I am very disappointed in you, Valyn. Haven't I taught you that humans are one of the kindest species in this universe? It's thanks to the current generation that this planet even thrives in the market. Now if she comes back you _will_ apologize like the decent woman I've raised you to be. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Valyn murmured and looked to the side, droplets of water streaming down her face.

"Minerva won't be coming back here," the Doctor declared, a bit relieved to see that the new woman, Zohar, apparently seemed nicer. But he supposed if this was the woman that was close to Kaeya her views on humans came from Kaeya herself.

"Nonetheless, please tell her I send her my sincerest apologies," Zohar said and the Doctor nodded. She looked at Valyn again and clapped her hands, "What are you still doing here? I said you have the afternoon free. Now go," Valyn rolled her eyes and stalked out of the shop, making Zohar sigh, "I'm sorry. She has some attitude that I'm trying to work on."

"Yeah, keep working on it," the Doctor mumbled.

Zohar walked to the counter and saw the mess Valyn had made with the vase with water splashed on the floor. She sighed and set her purse on the counter, using her hand to raise the water off the floor and into an empty vase on the shelf. She looked at the Doctor to find him staring at her, "I assure you I won't treat you the same way my niece did."

"You're Zohar," the Doctor began, making his way up to the counter.

"Yes."

"And you and your niece were aware of the relation Kaeya and I had?"

"Kaeya confided only in me for her secret. Valyn unfortunately had snuck out and coincidentally found you at the iced lake of Kaeya's. She was going to tell the king and queen but thankfully she came to me first, thinking I'd help her or something," Zohar smiled in amusement, "But I sat her down, and I explained to her the situation. She let things go after that, but the princess never knew about it."

"You helped Kaeya make her escape from the Monsoon after the Master told injured her..."

Zohar's smile faded as she nodded, "Thankfully, I was there to help her."

"How'd she do it?" the Doctor leaned on the counter, "Because my girlfriend, Minerva, she's seen certain images Kaeya relayed to her through her crystal, and it seems impossible for Kaeya to have actually survived."

"Kaeya did what now?" Zohar frowned, "Relayed?"

"Right," the Doctor figured he should work from the beginning on all this, "The crystal the Master took, it made it to the 21st century on Earth. There was this entire year that the crystal sort of passed on images and explanations from Kaeya to Minerva. And even before that, with Kaeya's necklace, Minerva was able to sort of gain access to a few of Kaeya's powers, even allow Kaeya herself to overtake her for a couple moments."

"Wait, _what_?" Zohar blinked, "You found the necklace?"

"Yes, Minerva and I found the secret cave of Kaeya on the Monsoon."

"And you got _inside_?"

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"Yes, actually, and it's the biggest of my concerns," the Doctor took a breath to speak again, "There's a piece of the crystal of the Royal Family lodged on Minerva's heart," Zohar's eyes widening, "And it's killing her. You have to help me, _please_."

Zohar took a moment as she thought, "Tell me more," she ordered.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva," Donna was still trying to catch up to Minerva on the streets.

The two had been walking streets of the city for some time now, Minerva farther ahead of the ginger. Donna had called and called for her to wait up, to talk and to make her feel better but Minerva had blatantly ignored the calls of her name and just walked.

But...she was reaching her limits end...

Donna beamed when she saw Minerva finally stopped walking, "Minerva!" she started speeding up for her.

Minerva kept her back to the ginger, her face looking down at the ground. She had tried to suppress all her emotions in, tried to ignore what Valyn had said to her. But, her eyes started to tear up, her lip quivering and letting out small, soft sniffles.

"Minerva," Donna gently turned her around, gasping at the girl's appearance, "Oh..."

"I'm nothing, Donna, just...nothing," Minerva sobbed and turned away, taking a seat on a nearby bench.

"No, don't say that," Donna sighed and joined her on the bench.

"Everything Valyn said is true. Who am I trying to kid? I'm no princess, I'm just human and, and...dust. Kaeya had a whole kingdom that adored her, loved her...she was, _is_ , beautiful and me?" Minerva bitterly laughed as she looked down at herself, "Wow, I am in _way_ over my head..." she burst into sobs.

Donna stared at the woman that was just so...broken. Minerva always spoke so well of herself and even Donna. To see her...like that, it broke Donna's heart. Valyn had broken Minerva down, and not just her, Valyn had been the last straw in all of Minerva's problems.

"Minerva you can't actually believe everything that woman said to you," Donna said, desperately wishing the Doctor was with them. He could make her feel much better, say all the right words to get her confidence back.

"Kaeya was and is better, she had all these abilities that I...I could never have," Minerva looked down, "I can't even be with Doctor his whole life. Kaeya can. She could offer him so much more than I ever will. I'm nothing in comparison to her, nothing," and she burst into further sobs.

~ 0 ~

"That blue light's not meant to be roaming about," Zohar was mumbling to herself while the Doctor took a look around the shop, specifically the purple flowers, "What's happened...?"

"What was that?" the Doctor called.

"Nothing," Zohar swallowed hard and moved for him, only to halt at some whispers. Her eyes scanned the area until she looked up at the ceiling and saw the blue light, making her breath hitch in her throat, "Oh my..." she covered her mouth.

"Something the matter?" the Doctor noticed the woman's nervousness.

"N-no," Zohar closed her eyes and focused on the whispers, listening to everything without hesitation. She knew exactly what the light was and why it was here, she just needed to know the rest of the story.

"So do you have an answer, then?" the Doctor finally returned to her, "That blue light, why would it save Minerva from dying?" he told her the story of how the blue light had saved Minerva and then come and made contact with her again in Japan.

Zohar's eyes snapped open and stared at the Doctor, knowing exactly what she had to say, "She must be special," she offered a small smile, "The blue light is, um...is just a conscious being, out there...to save the world..." she offered a small chuckle, "...save innocent people."

"And the crystal? Is there anything you can do on the crystal?"

"I'm sorry but I can't. Only Kaeya herself has the power to remove it," Zohar swallowed hard, "I can, um, give some herbs to help lower the effects until Kaeya comes back."

"Do you know where she could be? If I could just find her quicker then she could help me," the Doctor nodded, "She could help Minerva before it's too late."

Zohar watched him with terrible sadness. She could tell this Minerva woman was someone truly important to him, just like Kaeya had been. She wished she could say it all, say what she knew, but...the light above her had spoken and she had to follow orders. She didn't question them, she understood the Doctor was not prepared to learn of everything. But she was allowed to instigate some curiosity in him that would eventually lead him to the truth.

"Doctor, do you know of the myth of the Monsoon?" she asked him but by the confused look in his eyes she knew the response was a big fat no, "Oh my god...you still don't know," she whispered.

"Know what?" he frowned, recalling how the Master had laughed at him for not knowing something concerning the Moontsays and a myth.

Zohar looked up at the light and heard more whispers in her head. She sighed and smiled, "Would you like to hear a story?"

"Depends, will it be a useful one for Minerva?"

"Stick around and find out," she smirked.

The Doctor heaved a small, annoyed sigh yet did indeed stay at the counter to listen to this story.

"I know you're confused, Doctor, believe me so was I. In the end, though, it will work out. The Moontsays were never thought of as a competent species. We were always thought of as weak, primitive," the Doctor noticed a sly smile, almost smirk, spreading across her face, "But none of them knew what we really were...except your people," her smirk faded for a moment as she thought of all the hatred most Time Lords had expressed to the Moontsays, "They knew, of course they knew...and from the very beginning of my species, we were hated...we were called abominations because we're not supposed to exist," her eyes watered up and a long pause fell over.

"Zohar, honestly, I'm very sorry," the Doctor sighed, "I don't know the reason for such hatred between the Moontsays and Time Lords, but I don't care what it was. I cared for Kaeya, very much. And I'm really sorry that we never got to live our love as it should've been. It's one of my biggest regrets from the past."

"I know you did," she nodded, wiping a couple tears off her face, "Kaeya used to tell me all about your encounters with her. I was her confidant, because I was the only one beside her that didn't view you or your people with hatred. None of my family shared the hatred most of the planet had because what's the point? Valyn, she...she's just upset because her parents died from the war casualties. But she's a good person, she didn't view you nor the others as bad people." she was a bit confused as the Doctor smiled at her, "What?"

"You're the first Moontsay I meet, besides Kaeya, that actually likes me," he admitted and chuckled.

"My mother was a visionary, she saw the future and the past, and she told me all the progress the Time Lords did...and it amazed me," she wore an embarrassed blush that left the Doctor a bit confused now, "I wanted to marry one of them, and my mother laughed at me, jokingly."

"I'm sure you would've made a good wife," he smiled.

"I had hope that the hatred would end, though...because you know, not all Time Lords hated us. A long time ago, a few of them were actually cast out of Gallifrey...poor things ended up on our planet," she sighed, "They met the very first of the Moontsays...and they became friends."

"They did?" the Doctor was surprised that someone, a whole _group_ actually, besides him actually liked the Moontsays, "And then what happened?"

"Together, they constructed a new a home...and thus the Silver Monsoon was born," Zohar sighed with content, "After the rest of the Time Lords found out we existed, well...that was the beginning of their hatred, and it never ended."

"I'm sorry, Zohar. Really, I know your life wasn't easy and neither was Kaeya;s...but look at you, you're alive and you're actually kind. Do you think you could help us search for Kaeya?"

"Doctor, I'm going to be very frank with you here. No matter how much you search you will never find her yourself," Zohar smiled sadly, "She'll find you when you least expect it."

"So...you want me to just _wait_?" the Doctor blinked, "Wait and in the meantime watch how Minerva, _my_ Minerva, decays with the crystal inside her? Don't ask me to do that," he shook his head, "Please don't."

"I promise you it'll be okay," she quickly assured and looked up at the light, "I know it'll be okay. You just...you just need to wait. The time isn't right."

"Zohar, I _don't_ have time!" he exclaimed, "I need to find Kaeya _now_. Minerva doesn't know about the crystal and I doubt I'll be able to keep it from her forever."

"Believe me, there is _nothing_ I can do," Zohar tried to assure, looking down.

It was clear that the process hadn't gone right and things would only be getting worse. But truthfully she herself couldn't do anything to help. She had to wait until the light reconfigured itself, but clearly it had been a failure by what she'd learned. Though she admitted that she wasn't very surprised to find that the whole process had gone wrong. It had been centuries since any of the Moontsays had ever attempted it, though she also supposed that she had hoped because of the queen. She'd done it correctly and Kaeya being her daughter...Zohar had dared to believe it would also go correctly.

"I should go find Minerva, then," the Doctor took a long sigh and headed for the doors, seeing as there was apparently nothing to do at the moment.

"Can I see her?" he stopped at the request of Zohar. He looked back with confusion but Zohar moved around the counter with a small smile, "I want to meet the woman that's captivated you so much..." she looked around, "...that, and I've never seen an actual human in person."

He faintly smiled, "You'd love her."

"Do you?" came the startling question. Zohar watched the man (in a bit of amusement) as he stiffened and stuttered, his face growing red so quick she could almost laugh.

"Well, i-it's, u-um...it's...w-w-well..." he rubbed the side of his neck and turned back to the door, "So I'll go find Minerva."

Zohar playfully rolled her eyes, "Let me see her, Doctor. I can also apologize for my niece and figure out how much herbs to administrate. And don't worry, you can come back for those when she's asleep or something. I know humans sleep a lot more than most species."

The Doctor nodded, "Okay, and Zohar...thanks," he said, honestly meaning it, "I know you'd do everything to help Kaeya, and therefore Minerva."

"I'd do it regardless," Zohar clarified, surprising him for a moment.

"Thank you," he repeated and walked out, sprinting to go find Minerva.

~ 0 ~

Sometime later, Minerva sheepishly, and nervously, opened the door to Zohar's flower shop and stepped inside, "H-hello?" she called in a quiet tone.

She was confused of why she was being called back into the place. The Doctor found her and Donna by a local park and proceeded to give her one of the sweetest talks that left her feeling like a bloody queen, oh that Martian of hers. She truly didn't know what she would do without him. After a few kisses here and there, he announced that Valyn's aunt, Zohar, whom she immediately recognized as Kaeya's closest friends, wanted to apologize in the name of her niece and that she was waiting for Minerva. Minerva agreed to return as long as the Doctor and Donna would stay nearby. The pair promised and currently awaited across the street from the shop.

Zohar walked out from the back room holding a small crystal bottle in her hands, "Minerva, hi!" she set the bottle on the counter and took a good look at her. She smiled softly, "It's um..it's really good to see you," she nodded.

Minerva recognized the woman from the images Kaeya had shown her. Zohar looked exactly the same! Perfectly un-aged. She had shoulder-length, black hair and piercing blue eyes. She was a bit taller than Minerva, and was paler with silver streaks of lines running up-and-down her arms.

"The Doctor said you wanted to see me," Minerva crossed her arms, nervously looking around. She didn't understand why the woman was looking at her so much.

"Minerva, how old are you?" Zohar asked suddenly, the Doctor had told her the age but she wanted to know the exact date.

"Eighteen, why?" Minerva quietly responded, more hugging herself at the moment. The shop was beginning to feel colder than the first time she had entered.

"Um, just wanted to know how to gift you in the name of my niece," Zohar smiled brightly, "And speaking about Valyn," she walked up to Minerva, "I sincerely want to apologize to you for her. She's got no excuse for what she said and I will punish her for it, make no doubt about it. You are not dust, you aren't comparing to Kaeya, you are...magnificent, just like the rest of the humans. Please, please don't let Valyn's words affect you, okay? I promise you nothing like that will ever happen. I'm sorry."

Minerva blinked with shock at such a big apology. Truthfully she had expected just some 'I'm sorry' sentence and then a moving on from the subject. But Zohar seemed determined to make her believe in herself and know that it had been wrong.

"It's okay," Minerva whispered, "I forgive Valyn. I think...she was just defending Kaeya. I've learned through some extensive research how loyal the Moontsays were to the princess and her family. Valyn was just doing what her instincts told her to."

"Wow, you really are sweeter than you ought to be," Zohar shook her head, "You know, Kaeya used to be like that. I think you should stop," Minerva made a face of confusion, "I've seen what that does to people, Kaeya being the primary one. I wouldn't want that to happen again, believe me...the outcomes aren't good. The Doctor described to me, in great detail," she added and chuckled when Minerva blushed, "Your personality and I think it's great, you ought to keep at it just like that, regardless of what people say."

"Thank you, I'll, um...keep that in mind," Minerva nodded.

"And, you know, I heard what Kaeya's done with you and I'd like for you to understand that it was never her intention to hurt you."

"I know, she's ill," Minerva sighed, "I want to help her, believe me, I do, but...she's not making it very easy by hiding."

"She's not hiding," Zohar sighed and turned away, swallowing hard as she looked up to the blue light above, unnoticed by Minerva, "She's...waiting."

" _Waiting_? For what?"

"Something went wrong in what she did to escape, and I know the consequences of it now. She has to wait for the right moment to come back."

"How will we know when she comes back?"

Zohar looked at the purple flowers on the floor and smiled, "You'll know," she assured and walked for the counter, "Would you like to look around?"

"Me?" Minerva pointed to herself, making the woman chuckle.

"Yes, part of my apology is to give you a free flower. It's not much but...it's sincere," she promised.

"Um, thank you..."

"Well go around, pick out the one you like best!" Zohar gestured for Minerva to move around.

She leaned back on the counter and watched how Minerva slowly looked around...coming out of her shell if Zohar had to put it in words. Minerva looked very shy as her hands stuffed into her coat's pockets and walked a few steps. In reality, Minerva was growing colder and her hands were beginning to hurt a little so she stuffed them inside her coat's pockets. She went around the shop, seeing all kinds of weird flowers. There were bright yellow ones that looked more like earth sunflowers. There were others, a deep blue with specks of a lavender dots on its petals. Others had actual icicles growing as leaves. She made a whole turn around the shop, stopping by a group of the purple flowers on the floor, near the counter where Zohar stood. Minerva bent down and observed the purple flowers with intrigue. It grew on green roots, the flower itself drooping down like an upside-down tulip. Other patches were only the flowers itself, its petals wide open to allow the viewer a glimpse of its middle that was a bright silver. Minerva smiled and picked one of them up, her smile turning a bit confused when she saw other flowers bearing small icicles on its petals.

"I like these," Minerva spoke, glancing back at Zohar who seemed to wear a proud smile, "What are they?"

"I believe on Earth they would be called Wild Sesame," Zohar informed, "Only they're purely purple or blue on your planet. In the Monsoon, they're either purple with silver or purely silver."

"They're beautiful," Minerva smiled.

Zohar joined her and bent down, "Here," she took the flower from Minerva's hands and placed it along with the others. She picked another flower that bore the icicles and handed it over to Minerva, "Can you hold it for me, please?"

Minerva nodded and took the flower from her, staring at it intently. It really seemed wrong for it to bear those icicles that only took away its beauty.

"I'll find the freshest flower for you so you can take it home. But be warned, they'll need a lot of water," Zohar chuckled, "We are from the Monsoon after all. We always need more water than most species. Although the Saturnyne's could possibly compare to us...if they weren't big fish," she searched throughout the flower patches, "But they're good people, or fish, or-"

"Um...I think something happened," Minerva announced, sounding a bit uneasy.

Zohar looked over and found the human still holding the flower in her hands...but the icicles had turned into water and drenched Minerva's hands.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Minerva frowned, now her hands were severely cold.

"Um...yes," Zohar quickly took the flower from her and placed it with the others. She couldn't help but feel the flower felt... _warmer_. A _lot_ warmer...

"But how come the others haven't melted like that?" Minerva nodded to the other perfect iced flowers.

"Uh, it takes time, that's all. Guess you just had some luck," Zohar chuckled nervously, "Um, here, let me help with that," her hand lifted in the air and Minerva's eyes widened as the water literally lifted off her skin into midair.

"Woah..." she breathed, following the water do a small swirl as it flew into one of the vases on the shelves behind the counter, "...that's just...amazing!"

Zohar laughed, "Yeah!" Minerva smiled and looked at the flowers again, Zohar following her gaze, "So, you like these, then?"

"Mhm, out of the whole shop these are best," Minerva reached for another flower that didn't have icicles.

Zohar's smile widened at the sight of her holding the flower, "Take it, it's yours. Just remember, it needs a lot of water."

"Thank you," Minerva stood to her feet.

"You should go, the Doctor's probably getting a bit impatient," Zohar said, walking Minerva towards the door.

"How do you know that?"

"Just something Kaeya used to tell me."

Minerva laughed, "Oh, so he was the same in all incarnations, good to know."

Zohar smiled at how well Minerva managed in the subject of Kaeya, "Yeah, impatient and an idiot, apparently."

"Sounds like him, yeah," Minerva nodded.

"Though Kaeya used to spray some water on his face to make him calm down when he got too impatient."

"That's amazing," Minerva whispered. She really wished she had talents like that, something that would improve her human status and be a bit more worthy of her Martian.

"You are too," Zohar said, knowing where Minerva's thoughts had gotten to.

"Right," Minerva nodded and headed out, "Thank you," she moved to leave but was surprised with a hug from Zohar.

"I promise everything will be fine," Zohar whispered and pulled away.

"Thank you," Minerva repeated, a bit more confused now.

Zohar nodded and watched her leave. Once she had met with the Doctor and Donna, Zohar watched the trio leave then returned to her shop. She walked back to the Wild Sesame and smiled...but then she saw the flower whose icicles had melted on Minerva.

It was dried up.

Like it had been under the sun for too long.

She frowned and moved towards it when the blue light swarmed around her, "Alright, alright, I'll stop," she sighed and watched the light move in front of her, "I'm so sorry this happened," she sighed, "It'll be some time before you can try that again. Japan can't repeat itself or worse things could happen...death."

The light made a humming noise which made Zohar sadly smile, "I know, he's still the same, no matter how much he changes faces."

~ 0 ~

"Feeling better, now?" the Doctor was rubbing Minerva's hands in his, hoping to add some warmness into them.

Even the console room was currently blasting a heater just for her. He had removed his coat and his suit's jacket due and handed them over for Minerva to wear on top of her blue coat. Donna had excused herself to her own room where nice cool air was present, apologizing to Minerva for it but the brunette didn't care. She understood that she was the only one that was affected by the cold and shouldn't have to bring down Donna nor the Doctor with her...not that the Doctor would be persuaded to go. Minerva had tried to make him put the heater in her room again and told him she'd be fine on her own but the Doctor wouldn't have it. After Valyn's words he wanted to be right beside her to make sure she was nice and warm and confident in herself again.

She was leaning against the console, the Doctor in front of her, still rubbing their hands together with her just staring and smiling at him, "I feel much better thanks to my doctor, you know. Thank god I have a personal one."

"Just yours," he promised, Eskimo kissing her, both chuckling afterwards.

"What would I do without him," she sighed, her smile fading slightly as she involuntarily thought back to Valyn.

"No, don't do that," he frowned, his finger moving to her face where it stroked her cheek, "Smile, always smile."

"Sorry," she sighed, "I know I've been extra moody lately and annoying but-"

"You have not been moody nor annoying," he corrected, "People have been unnecessarily putting you down. You've got a right to react to it, you know? But don't worry, you can talk to me or anyone about it so it doesn't stay bottled inside you."

"Thanks," Minerva whispered, "Thank you for defending me today."

He looked at her with a small smile, "You don't need to thank me for it, it's my job to protect you from people like that."

"But you may have went a bit overboard don't you think?" she sheepishly asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment about everything he said to Valyn and then came to the conclusion of, "Nope."

"But you promised a slow, painful death..."

"I know what I said."

"But you would've have...you wouldn't have actually..." Minerva tried to look in the Doctor's eyes for the actual truth behind his threats, but for some reason she couldn't really find it, "...Doctor, c'mon...death for _me_?"

"Minerva," he gripped both her hands and stepped closer to her, "There is something you _need_ to understand," she nodded, "I would do _anything_ for you."

Minerva's breath hitched as she saw the sincerity in his eyes, feeling her heart racing as his words replayed in her head over and over. She felt like the happiest woman alive, not to mention the luckiest. She had the perfect man at her side, a perfect Martian, who actually cared for her that much. Well, if she had to describe how she felt for him...she was a bit nervous as she realized she didn't want to use the words 'in like' anymore. What she felt was far stronger than just a petty ole crush...so how could she tell him that without freezing up?

A palm on her cheek snapped her out of her thoughts and realized it was the Doctor trying to assure he was being honest, "I don't think you realize how much I..." he paused, swallowing hard with nervousness, his mind thinking back to the others couple times he'd found himself pausing when he wanted to speak certain words, "...do you remember what I said to you back in the Titanic? After miraculously getting you back?"

Though now that Zohar had explained to him that the light was a conscious being with small powers of its own...it wasn't such a miracle. It was low-level teleportation. Still, it was something he was mighty thankful for.

"You are my life, my everything and I intend to make you happy and give you everything you deserve," he pressed his forehead on hers and looked at her radiant jade-green eyes, "That includes protecting you with everything I've got."

"I've never had someone care for me like that," Minerva faintly smiled.

"You've no idea how much I care for you, my Clever Girl," he smiled back and gave her a soft kiss.

Minerva giggled after they'd pulled apart, "Well, I'll tell you something, my lips are most definitely warm now."

"Part of my job," he proudly declared, "But you know what, why don't you let me take you to that surprise place I talked about earlier?"

"Where to?" she asked curiously.

"None of your business until we're actually there!" he tapped her nose, "Go get Donna and come back to see your big surprise. I think you're gonna love it."

"If you chose it for me than of course I'll love it," she leaned on her toes to give him another kiss on the lips.

"Go get the ginger, I'll set us up here," he instructed.

"Okay," she started taking off his coat and jacket followed by her own blue coat before heading for the corridors, "Wow," she chuckled as she set them all down on the chair nearby, "Oh, and you can turn down the heater in here. I feel much better," she turned him around and gave him another kiss, giggling again, "Surprise!"

"Don't turn this into a game, dear, because I'll win," he playfully warned.

She smirked, "I'd like to see that happen," she went in for another kiss then ran off before the Doctor could even react.

~ 0 ~

"Welcome to...Holi," the Doctor announced as he walked Minerva and Donna out into a dark night.

Minerva looked around and noticed the streets were heavily crowded, vendors with sacks of...colored dust, all lined up in several parts of the streets.

"We're in India," Donna remarked as she took in the people's attire, "That's why you wanted us to wear Saris..."

"Reconsidered it," the Doctor said, "Figured it may be easier to do this in our regular clothes."

"Do what?"

"Doctor, you said...Holi?" Minerva asked, the word just hitting her head.

The Doctor turned around with a broad smile, "Oh yes!"

She started to smile, and a great big one, "...you didn't..."

"I did," he nodded, his smile widening as well.

Donna looked between them, severely lost with their couple silent talks, "Well, what's that?"

"Donna, look around," Minerva gestured.

It was dark out but there were several lights that made it possible to distinguish the objects and people. Donna looked around and just saw people fawning over...pistols? Well, that couldn't be right. The Doctor would _never_ bring them to a place with guns. She stared harder and realized they were fake, more like water pistols. That made a lot more sense. She then saw several groups hauling what looked like wagons of water baloons. The vendors were still shouting for more customers to come around and buy whatever were in their sacks.

"I don't get it," Donna concluded.

"My Clever Girl loves to be an artist," the Doctor moved beside Minerva, taking her hand in his, "So what better place to bring her than a great big colorful festival."

"Which is?" Donna asked, still confused, why couldn't they just be direct!

"Donna, it's Holi, the festival of Colors," Minerva explained, "...in other words, it's a great big paint fight!"

"Paint fight!?"

Minerva nodded, "We get to throw colors at each other."

"Just...because?"

"It's a celebration to commence Spring," Minerva explained, "I've always wanted to visit," she looked up at the Doctor, "And thanks to my boyfriend, I can now cross this off my bucket list," she got on her toes and kissed him.

"Mm, glad you liked it, dear," he wrapped an arm around her waist.

He'd been planning on bringing Minerva to this place a long time ago but never seemed to actually do it for whatever reason. He figured after so much trouble lately with the crystal's effects, Minerva needed a calm, fun moment like this more than ever.

"But how are we gonna throw each other the colors?" Minerva asked, snapping him from his thoughts, "We clearly haven't bought anything and we don't have money."

"Not to worry my Clever Girl," the Doctor tapped her nose, "I had already taken care of that."

She raised an eyebrow at the Martian but he just mischievously smiled and led her and Donna away. She looked back at Donna who was just smirking away at the Doctor. For some reason, she could tell Donna was going to have a lot of fun throwing paint...at a certain Martian.

~ 0 ~

Everything was wonderful. Everything was good. Everything was...covered in paint. Including the thousands, no millions, of people that were out in the streets.

Donna couldn't even recognize her own hair as red as it now looked more like a full-blown rainbow. She looked at Minerva and wondered how the hell all that hair she sported wasn't drenched in paint. Minerva's long hair only had a couple blotches of paint but nothing severe like Donna. Though when she looked at the Doctor, who was now literally a rainbow from head-to-toe...she felt a tiny bit better. The man had done good in leaving his usual coat in the box because it would've joined in on the rainbow he now was.

She laughed and threw a blown-up balloon full of paint at the Doctor, adding a new set of colors onto his hair. He turned around, appalled at what she'd done and drew out his water pistol, now fully stocked with paint, and squirted at the ginger. Donna shut her eyes as she felt fresh new paint splatter her face.

"Ha!" the Doctor exclaimed, nearly jumping of excitement, not caring who he bumped into; the street was currently inhabited to the point where most were pushed against each other.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted, silently swearing she'd get him back for that one.

The Doctor, however, beamed and waved, "Ha! Ha! I've got you Donna Nob-"

And then he was pushed to the side as a paint balloon hit and exploded on the side of his face. Donna smirked and turned to fight with another person, who ever. It didn't matter!

The Doctor turned around, opening his mouth to begin a new battle with whomever had just painted him...when he saw Minerva several feet away, wiggling her fingers with a sly smirk on her face.

"It's so on, Clever Girl," he pointed, squirting the pistol at her.

Minerva closed her eyes and let the pain splatter her chin, "You have awful aim!" she shouted afterwards.

"That's because I didn't want to get your beautiful eyes," he called.

"Smooth talking won't get you anywhere, Martian," she grinned as she pulled out two more balloons from her back, "Ha!" she threw one of the balloons and splattered his chest.

He looked down at himself and sighed, oh she'd unfortunately have to pay for that too. He looked up to speak another round of smooth talk in hopes of making her an easier target. But he saw her be hit by several more people to the side of her. She gasped at her new painty appearance and laughed. A few of the group handed her more balloons to defend herself and she quickly started throwing them at the culprits of her new paint on her shirt.

She was just so...amazing.

The Doctor knew he said that all the time, probably sounding like a broken record. But he couldn't help it. Minerva truly was amazing. She was like none others and he had to comment on it. He kept staring at her while she seemed to be making new and new friends with the ongoing battle she was involved in.

She was glowing in beauty.

She was another set of rainbow like himself, but while he looked like an outright mess she looked like a goddess. The goddess Minerva, in one of her elements: the arts. But beyond the arts, she was purely a goddess. She was the kindest, caring, lovable goddess anyone could ever love. She was the brightest human being he'd ever met, despite having an awful childhood of 14 years. He really didn't think anyone else could be as bright and cheerful as she was. Even he with war was at often dark. And sure, a war doesn't compare to a bad childhood, but the mother Minerva had might as well count for double. Yet, Minerva was nothing like her mother. She was...an angel. And when he came out of the war, he was nothing but the darkness. He, a much older man, with more life experience wasn't able to overcome his past as well as Minerva had.

No one could compare to her.

And now, looking at her basking in the colors thrown at her...he sighed deeply with content. He hadn't felt this kind of happiness in his life in such a long time. This human, this woman of a mere eighteen years old snatched both his hearts in less than a year. His oblivion and indecision were the cause of his delay in confessing his feelings. But the fact remained, Minerva had him falling for her in just a couple of months after traveling together. He didn't think he'd ever get out of it, not that he would want to.

Minerva took one paint balloon and turned to the Doctor, biting her lip with a smirk as she nodded to to the balloon, warning him she hadn't forgotten him. She started walking for him, her smirk wide as could be.

The Doctor was still lost in his thoughts, however, his eyes locked on her as she grew closer. He didn't care what it took, what rules he had to break, he had to find a way to make her age halt. He needed to because he wasn't willing to give her up. Because, this might be some big ole Star-crossed fantasy but the Doctor was determined to make it last for a _very_ long time, because he wasn't _in like_ with her, no...because he...

"I love you," he said to Minerva with a content sigh.

Minerva froze in her spot, the balloon in her hand dropping to the ground. Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened and blinked rapidly while her mind processed those three words, "Y-you what?"

The Doctor should've realized what he'd been trying to say for quite some time now, those three words that kept trying to make its way to his words and yet always remained at the tip of his tongue. But of course, being the idiot he was, he never realized it. Now, now he felt completely sure of what he said, he didn't stutter or ramble, he only smiled, "I love you," he repeated to her with a nod.

"Think real hard of what you just said," Minerva warned, her heart beating faster.

"I did," his smile softened as he stared at her, "I love you, Minerva."

Her eyes watered up as she covered her mouth, "Oh my god..." she laughed, "...you love me?" she asked incredulously, the Doctor simply nodding again, "You _love_ me," she looked down and shook her head, her heart wanting to explode from everything she was feeling.

She looked at him for a minute, almost shivering at the little sparkle that was in his eyes, knowing it was because of _her_. _She_ was the cause of it...she was the woman the Doctor _loved_.

"I love you too," she said softly, running up to him and actually jumped onto him.

The Doctor laughed as he stumbled back with her, holding her real tight as her legs wound around his waist, "Yeah?"

She nodded, her hands reaching to his face, "Mhm, it's crazy because I was just thinking about how much I cared for you and I was a bit afraid of how to say it without being so nervous," she chuckled, "Look at me, I'm rambling," she bit her lip and took a moment to recollect herself as she stared him in the eye, "I love you, Martian," she whispered.

"I love you Clever Girl," he pressed a kiss to her lips.

A small, sweet kiss turned into set of passionate kisses that would've put them in everyone's eyes if there wasn't currently a paint fight going on around them. Their bodies were being hit with all kinds of paint, either collateral damage from the actual target or just being easy targets. Either way, none of it made them pull apart.

Donna returned with a fresh new pile of balloons in her arms, ready to strike the Doctor and perhaps even Minerva if she got the chance. She stopped at the sight ahead of her, the Doctor and Minerva were snogging! Right in the middle of thousands of people! Oh, those two sure knew how to pick their moments! They were really passing the line, now. Something mighty big must have happened for them to be kissing like _that_ in the middle of all these people. With a shake of her head, Donna turned around and headed back to hunt down new targets to splatter with paint.

The Doctor and Minerva pulled away for a moment, looking at their faces where a new color of purple was made around their mouths. They smiled at their new combination of colors before looking into each other eyes, basking in the new love they discovered they each had for one-another. They smiled and continued to kiss each other, the yells and noise of the festival slowly fading away from them.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! Do you see why this chapter is one of my top favorites!? The big words came out ^.^  
I apologize but I am a hopeless romantic and I will often project that into my stories .

So...did I deliver on my hints? I'm pretty sure the ending was okayish...right?

Any spoilers you ask? Hm, well, here's one: You'll finally meet Sophia and Nicolas Souza in about two chapters more :)

Yeeah...Minerva's health does seem to be growing a bit poor doesn't it? As for your question of the blue light...yes and no ;) Quite literally, sorry. Hope you like the chapter lol

Aw, thank you! I'm glad to know you love the story :)

So, next chapter we get to see the best friends reunite! Hooray!


	9. The Old Team Together, Part 1

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Donna cried in excitement as she maneuvered around the TARDIS console, actually _driving_ the box.

"Mm, neither can I," the Doctor watched the ginger with nervousness, "Whoa, careful!" he banged the console with a mallet before lifting a lever.

"You did _not_ just hit her with a mallet," Minerva frowned, the TARDIS giving a rather irritated hum as a response, "Hear that? She doesn't like it."

"Yeah, sorry!" he called, though he was a bit busy to fully apologize to the box, "Left hand down! Left hand down!" the ship lurched, "Getting a bit too close to the 1980s."

"What am I gonna do, put a dent in 'em?" Donna rolled her eyes.

"Well, someone did!"

Minerva hopped off her seat, fixing her skirt, "Now then, let's not be rude," she moved beside the Doctor, "Let Donna do her thing."

" _Her_ thing?" the Doctor frowned, "This is _my_ ship!"

"And yet Donna isn't the one that hits the TARDIS with a mallet," Minerva crossed her arms.

Donna stuck out her tongue to the Doctor, irritating him that Minerva couldn't see her. Minerva laughed at his comical expressions, attracting his attention which quickly made him smile, "You're such an idiot," she remarked.

"But _your_ idiot?" he leaned down and Eskimo kissed her.

"Just mine," she draped her arms around her neck, "Because I love you and you love me," she whispered and got on her toes to kiss him.

"PDA!" Donna shouted, not even listening as she looked away and crinkled her nose.

"Gonna have to deal with it, Donna," the Doctor smirked at her. That was one way of getting back at her, kissing his girlfriend. What a win, win!

Minerva turned around, leaning back on the Doctor's chest, letting his arms go around her waist, "Sorry Donna, but he's right."

"What's wrong with you?" the ginger studied them intently.

Ever since India, those two had been closer than ever...and for them, that was something! Even though Minerva still had to deal with her family, her emotions regarding them had decreased as well as the ones created by the crystal in her heard. And Donna had a guess that it wasn't from whatever medicine Zohar gave Minerva. Donna was informed of the herbs Zohar had secretly given to the Doctor. The medicine was simply supposed to minimize the crystal's effects on Minerva. But this was different, Minerva just seemed... _happier_. In all senses, the woman couldn't stop smiling. Same thing went for the Doctor. Lately, he'd been caught up trying to help Minerva and Donna knew that a simple medicine bottle wouldn't suffice to keep him calm. And yet, he couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

Something happened and Donna would like to know what it was to be able to tease them about it.

"Absolutely nothing is wrong with us," Minerva replied with a giddy smile, "I just love these moments," she looked up to the Doctor, both smiling knowingly, "Don't you, Martian?"

"Yup, I love them too," he kissed her head.

"I'm gonna figure out what's going on," Donna warned, wagging a finger, "Just you wait."

Suddenly, a cellphone started ringing. Minerva stiffened, it was _Martha's_ cellphone. The cellphone number her mother still had...and _Marisol_. With everything that had happened lately, she'd forgotten to block Marisol's number.

"It's alright, I'll take it," the Doctor said, sensing Minerva's uneasiness, "And believe me, if it's Marisol or Sophia, I _will_ set them straight," he let her go to find the phone. He plucked out the phone from a holder under the console and opened it up, "Hello?" he asked, rejoining the women.

"Doctor-it's Martha... and I'm bringing you back to Earth," Martha Jones spoke with great excitement.

The Doctor looked at Minerva with a smile, "I believe this is for you," he kissed her forehead and handed her the phone.

~ 0 ~

Martha Jones watched the TARDIS materialize a few feet away from her, just barely controlling herself to keep still. This was the first time she would be seeing the Doctor and her best friend since she left last year. A phone call truly did not compare to actually seeing her favorite people in the world!

"Out of my way!" she heard Minerva from inside the box.

She laughed quietly but when the door opened and Minerva quite literally jumped out of the box, she couldn't help herself, "Minerva!"

"Martha!" Minerva exclaimed.

They ran to met each other in a big hug as the Doctor and Donna stepped out of the TARDIS.

"I've missed you!" Martha cried.

"I've missed you more!"

"Believe me, not as much as I have! I need the sassy remarks," Martha pulled away.

"And I need my wardrobe godmother," Minerva heaved a dramatic sigh, "My taste just doesn't compare to yours!"

"Well stay with me, then," Martha swung her arm around Minerva's shoulder.

"That's my cue to cut in," the Doctor approached them, gently pulling Minerva from Martha, "She can't leave anymore," he declared seriously.

"Right, possessive boyfriend and all," Martha shook her head, "I do hope you've been following my orders," she looked at them intently, laughing when they blushed and looked away from each other, "I see they have!"

"Oh just come here," the Doctor opened his free arm for her. Martha went ahead and joined in on a group hug.

Donna remained by the box, not wanting to intrude on the big reunion. She looked at them with a smile, happy Minerva finally got to see her best friend again. The poor girl really did deserve it.

"So how's the family?" Minerva asked once they had pulled away from each other, she remaining with the Doctor's arm around her waist.

"You know. Not so bad. Recovering," Martha nodded, her eyes wandering behind them to see Donna, "Right. I should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me."

"Donna's no replacement, Martha," Minerva glanced back at the ginger and motioned for her to come and join them, "Did I mention, she's a sister to me? My ginger sister?"

"Yikes, how did Sophia explain that one?" Martha laughed as Donna sheepishly came over.

"Now, don't start a fight," the Doctor warned, "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha. Please don't fight. I can't bear fighting."

"You wish," Donna rolled her eyes. As if she would ever start a fight with her sister's best friend! She held her hand out for Martha, "I've heard all about you. Minerva's seriously exhausted every last detail about you."

"Oh, my God, she's told you everything," Martha felt for entire story Donna probably had to hear.

Donna laughed, "You mean how you pushed the spaceman's head to Minerva so the two would finally kiss and become what they are now?"

"Hey, I had enough," Martha shrugged casually, though smirked when she saw pair blushing.

"Oh, but I see a payback moment now," Donna had noticed the engagement ring Martha wore, "Who's the lucky man?"

"Excuse me?" Minerva stiffened.

"What man? Lucky what?" the Doctor was also not too pleased.

"She's engaged, you prawn," Donna shot him a look as Martha wiggled her fingers on her left hand that bore an engagement ring.

"What, when, who, why!?" Minerva stepped up, looking almost like a mother even if Martha was older than her, "Martha Elizabeth Jones!?"

"Did I forget to mention that itty-bitty detail?" Martha pretended to think.

Minerva moved beside her promptly elbowed her in the ribs.

"Is it weird if I say I actually _missed_ that?" Martha grunted as she rubbed her side, still smiling though.

Minerva returned to the Doctor's side, crossing her arms, "For us, not really. But seriously, who is it?"

"Tom. That Tom Milligan. He's in pediatrics working out in Africa right now. And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places - tell me about it."

"Hey, following into my lead," Minerva lightened up.

She wasn't too pleased to just find out about her best friend's engagement but if the man made her happy then she was happy. Martha had helped her so much with her family and the Doctor, the moment had come for her to repay Martha. And she was more than glad to do so!

"Is he skinny?" Donna asked.

"No, he's sort of... strong," Martha blushed.

"He is too skinny for words," Donna nodded back to the Doctor, "You give him a hug, you get a paper cut."

All three woman started laughing, the Doctor looking down at Minerva with a sharp look. Immediately, she stopped laughing, "I mean that's not funny at all," she shook her head, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

"I'd rather you were fighting," he muttered to Martha and Donna.

"Dr Jones, report to base, please," a woman's voice rang from Martha's radio.

"Speaking of which..." Martha pointed to the radio before speaking into it, "This is Dr Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go," she turned and walked away, the group following after her, "I repeat, this is a go."

Soldiers, jeeps, and a large lorry were coming down the road as the group followed after Martha.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce, raise that barrier now!" a soldier was ordering as other soldiers and several vehicles were entering an industrial factory building, "Leave your safeties on, lads, it's non-hostiles!"

"All workers lay down your tools and surrender!" ordered a second soldier through a bullhorn.

"Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta," Martha ordered as well.

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor asked her.

"Illegal aliens."

"This is a UNIT operation! All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately!" the soldier through the bullhorn was heard again. The UNIT soldiers forced down the factory workers to their knees on the ground, their hands over their heads.

"B Section mobilized! E Section, F Section, on my command!" Martha called and ran off.

"Is that what you did to her, turned her into a soldier?" Donna looked at the pair who were staring after Martha.

"My best friend is _not_ a soldier," Minerva muttered, refusing to believe Martha could be some soldier that forced people on their knees and hands behind their head...that wasn't her best friend.

~ 0 ~

Martha rejoined the trio, having been caught up with another section and so taken a bit longer to pick up where she'd left off.

"Do you know I'm very proud of you for being a proper doctor now?" Minerva smiled upon seeing Martha wearing her badge.

"By the way, I'm still a little upset I wasn't informed earlier," the Doctor cut in.

Martha smiled, "Maybe if you actually spoke to me on the phone you'd know things."

"I'm busy!"

"Yeah, heaven knows with what," she looked at Minerva suggestively, making Minerva blush.

"Martha!" she exclaimed.

"You know, _that_ is one thing I miss about not being in the TARDIS anymore, the _teasing_ ," Martha laughed.

"Oh, I got that covered!" Donna raised a finger, earning a double glare from the couple.

"Donna, there's um, a little tradition we have in the TARDIS," Minerva took her hand and pulled the ginger beside her, "It goes a little like this," she elbowed Donna in the ribs.

"Ah!" the ginger retreated to the side, her hand rubbing her side.

"Welcome to the TARDIS," Minerva flashed a sweet grin.

Martha shook her head and gestured for the group to follow her, "We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you, Doctor."

"Wish I could say the same," the Doctor mumbled as he looked around...soldiers and guns everywhere, hm, something told him it wasn't a good place to be in.

~ 0 ~

The group entered the lorry from the rear, seeing as soon as they entered top of the line computers, monitors and communications.

Martha walked up to a senior officer, "Operation Blue Sky complete, sir. Thanks for letting me take the lead. And this... this is the Doctor. Doctor, Colonel Mace."

"Sir," Mace saluted.

"Oh, don't salute," the Doctor made a face.

"But it's an honor, sir. I've read all the files on you. Technically speaking, you're still on staff. You never resigned."

"You know, it's very rude to leave a job unattended," Minerva scolded lightly, "I've kept all my jobs to an impeccable attendance record."

"We're talking about the 70s," the Doctor said, looking about the machinery, "Or was it the 80s? It was all a bit more homespun back then."

"Times have changed, sir," Mace said.

"That's enough of the "sir"."

"Come on though, Doctor. You've seen it. You've been on board the Valiant. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security," Martha explained.

"A modern UNIT for the modern world," Mace added.

"What, and that means arresting ordinary workers?" Donna stepped in, feeling like someone should tell all these people that what they're doing is wrong, or added least in the wrong _way_ , "The streets? In broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute," she then looked at Minerva and reconsidered her words, "We'll both have a salute," she gestured to Minerva and herself.

"Oh that's not really necessary," Minerva quickly said then looked at Donna and thought again, "You know what, what the heck, I'd like a salute."

Mace gave a look to the Doctor who simply nod, "Ma'ams," he saluted to the women.

"Someone important saluted to me," Minerva giggled.

"Tell me what's going on in that factory," the Doctor instructed as he smiled at her; she was too adorable at times.

"Yesterday, fifty-two people died in identical circumstances right across the world, in 11 different time zones. 5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China-"

"You mean they died simultaneously?" and the Doctor's smile had ended.

"Exactly. 52 deaths at the exact same moment worldwide."

"How exactly did they die?" Minerva curiously asked.

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were _poisoned_ ," Martha clarified, "I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"What have the cars got in common?" the Doctor asked.

"Completely different makes but all fitted with ATMOS. And that is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?" Minerva frowned.

"Oh come on, even I know that. Everyone's got ATMOS," Donna said.

"I haven't driven a car for some time now," Minerva explained.

"Oh so you _can_ drive," Martha gave her a sharp look, "In the future, please use a car and drive yourself to see me!"

Minerva smiled and nodded, she really should visit her best friend more often, "Will do."

~ 0 ~

The group were following Martha inside the factory along a corridor, Martha explaining ATMOS to them, "Stands for "Atmospheric Emission System". The ATMOS in your car reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero? No carbon? None at all?" the Doctor asked.

"And you get sat-nav thrown in, plus 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend. Bargain," Donna added.

Colonel Mace joined them from another corridor, "And this is where they make it, Doctor, shipping worldwide. Seventeen factories across the globe but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"That could be used for proper invasion," Minerva remarked, "If it turns out to be alien, anyways..."

"That's why we're here to investigate that possibility. Doctor?" Mace gestured for the alien to follow him. Mace led them into an office where an ATMOS device was sitting on the desk for display. "And here it is, laid bare. ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car," he moved around the desk as he looked at the devise.

"You've must've checked it before it went on sale," the Doctor remarked.

"We did. We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed an expert," Martha smiled knowingly.

But the Doctor slipped on his glasses and turned to study the equipment behind him, "Really? Who did you get?"

Martha raised an eyebrow at Minerva. The brunette shook her head and turned the Doctor to the group, "They meant _you_ , idiot," she snapped.

The Doctor blinked and flashed an embarrassed smile, " Oh, right! Me! Yes! Good."

Martha shook her head and headed for the exit of the office, Mace following her out.

"Okay, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked as the Doctor moved up to the device on the desk.

"Very good question," the Doctor acknowledged.

"Maybe they want to help - get rid of pollution and stuff?" Donna tried coming up with an answering seeing she wasn't going to get one yet.

"Donna, there's millions of cars on this planet, if this stuff turns out to be bad then imagine just how many weapons they have on the planet?" Minerva sighed, "Millions of weapons...just waiting to be activated."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was busy studying the ATMOS device in the office room, Minerva beside him just watching him with Mace and Martha close by, "Ionising nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter - which means that ATMOS works. Filters the CO2 at a molecular level," the Doctor rambled.

"We know about that. What's its origin? Is it alien?" Mace asked, leaning forwards.

"No, but it's decades ahead of its time," the Doctor said, his eyes wandering to the gun Mace war...close to himself...and Minerva, "Look, do you mind? Could you stand back a bit?"

"Sorry, have I done something wrong?" Mace stepped back.

"You're carrying a gun. I don't like people with guns hanging around me or my girlfriend, all right?"

"If you insist," Mace nodded and walked away.

"Doctor, I think that was a bit mean," Minerva moved closer to him, "I'm not one for guns either but this is different. I don't think he was the bad guy."

"He's a good man," Martha added.

"People with guns are usually the enemy in my books," he explained, "And I don't want them anywhere near my Clever Girl," he reached out to stroke Minerva's cheek.

Martha playfully rolled her eyes at the two. She assumed this was what Donna had to endure on their trips. But for Martha, it was different. She supposed it was because she had tried pushing them together throughout her go in the TARDIS. To her, she was watching her finished project, her favorite people together...as it should be.

"Oh, you always make this about me," Minerva turned away from the Doctor, lightly blushing.

The Doctor smiled at her, "It's always about you, dear. I see possible harm and my mind immediately goes to you," he dropped a kiss to her head. He looked up to Martha on the other side of the table and for a split second he found himself checking her over in case _she_ had a gun, "Though you Martha...you seem quite at home..." he took out his sonic screwdriver and used it on the device, discreetly pulling Minerva closer to him.

"Don't do that, Martian," Minerva sighed. She didn't have to be a Time Lady and read his mind to know he was considering the fact _Martha_ , her _best friend_ , could be a hazard.

"Hey, if anyone got me used to fighting, it's you," Martha countered.

"Oh right, so it's my fault," the Doctor muttered.

"Well, you got me the job. Besides, look at me," the Doctor turned off his screwdriver as Martha moved around the table and gestured to her outfit that bore no kind of weapon, "Am I carrying a gun?"

"Suppose not..."

"It's all right for you. You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

"That's my best friend," Minerva smiled, looking at the Doctor, "And that's our Martha Jones."

"I learned from the best," Martha nodded.

"Well..." the Doctor swayed his head.

"Isn't Minerva the best?" Martha teased, laughing when the Doctor mock glared at her for making him think she was talking about him.

But he looked at Minerva and had to agree, she was the best, "Yeah, she is."

"Has she finally learned that she's not second best?" Martha asked, a little more serious now.

She wanted to know that her best friend had finally understood she wasn't second best to Rose Tyler. She hoped the Doctor already knew about those doubts of Minerva and had promptly worked on them.

"Martha..." Minerva eyed her with a frown.

Apparently, the Doctor hadn't found out yet.

"Second best to what?" the Doctor asked, frowning as well as he saw Minerva shift away from him.

"Oi, you lot!" Donna entered the room holding a file in her arms, Minerva thanking the heavens the ginger had interrupted, "All your storm troopers and your sonics - rubbish! Shoulda come with me."

"Where have you been?" Minerva asked her fast, hoping Martha wouldn't insist on the whole second best thing.

"Personnel. That's where the weird stuff's happening - in the paperwork," Donna answered as Colonel Mace returned, "Cause I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way around an office blindfolded, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."

"Why, what's inside it? Or what's not inside it?" the Doctor tried to move closer to Minerva with caution, still concerned with the little moment a couple seconds ago.

"Sick days," Donna opened the file to show it was empty, "There aren't any. Hundred of people working here, and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

"That can't be right," Mace took the folder from her.

"You've been checking out the buildings, should've been checking out the workforce."

"I can see why they like you," Martha smiled, "You are good."

"Super Temp," Donna joked.

"Dr Jones, set up a medical post, start examining the workers. I'll get them sent through," Mace ordered.

"Come on, Donna, give me a hand," Martha motioned for the ginger to follow.

"I can help too," Minerva volunteered, stepping forwards.

"No, you stay with the Doctor. You have yet to talk to her," Martha cast a sharp look to the Doctor.

"Talk about what?" he looked down at Minerva.

"Nothing," she mumbled quietly.

"Please follow," Mace ordered she and the Doctor, finding this little moment to be a waste of time.

Just to avoid more questions, Minerva nodded and hurried after the man.

"What do we need to talk about?" the Doctor asked Martha, now more concerned than confused.

In less than a second, Minerva had turned into a quiet, nearly silent, and reserved woman. That wasn't his Clever Girl. She loved to talk, and he loved that...

"Not my place to tell unfortunately," Martha sighed and pushed Donna ahead. She had forgotten for a moment just how stubborn Minerva could be at times.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva," the Doctor kept whispering her name as they followed Mace down a corridor. She had kept quiet for some reason and he wanted to know why to fix it and see her smile again, "Minerva?"

"So, this, this ATMOS thing, where'd it come from?" Minerva asked Mace, blatantly ignoring her name.

She truly didn't want to talk about Rose at the moment. She had only declared her love for the man they both loved and it was sort of a damper on the mood.

"Luke Rattigan himself," Mace answered.

"And himself would be?"

Mace pulled up a profile on the computer belonging to Luke Rattigan, now in another office, "Child genius. Invented the Fountain 6 search engine when he was 12 years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school educating students handpicked from all over the world."

"A hothouse for geniuses - wouldn't mind going there with my Clever Girl," the Doctor said, still looking down at Minerva with concern.

"What for?" Minerva mumbled, her eyes looking at the floor.

"Because imagine what I could teach you there?"

She looked up, a warm smile on her face, "Always about me, huh?" she whispered.

"Always," he kissed her forehead, a little more relaxed with her smile. Later on, he'd get her to laugh again and make her happy, "Just like our time with Jane Austen during our Literature lessons, right?"

But Minerva tilted her head and made a face, "Jane Austen? When did we meet her?"

The Doctor smiled through the bit of confusion from her response, "What? What do you mean 'when did we meet her'? Couple months ago, remember? One of our dates."

Minerva shook her head, "Don't remember that, sorry," she gave him a peck on the lips and moved to the computer where Mace was bringing up another file on Luke Rattigon.

The Doctor stared after her with surprise and confusion. How could she just forget a date like that?

~ 0 ~

In another part of the factory, Martha and Donna were finishing up checking up the factory workers.

"Martha, what exactly did you mean by second best earlier?" Donna asked, the question having been in her head for some time now.

"Um, has Minerva told you about the past?" Martha replied, quickly debating if telling Donna would benefit or hurt Minerva.

"Well, I don't know what you mean exactly but I do know about Kaeya and currently the situation Minerva is in with her heart and blood."

"Heart?" Martha's head snapped up to Donna, "What's wrong with her heart?"

"Umm...I think that's a question for the Doctor," Donna made a face as she realized her slip.

Martha looked around and then pulled Donna to the side where no one would overhear them, "Alright, I'll tell you about the second best thing if you tell me what's wrong with Minerva's heart. And remember, I'm a doctor. I could help Minerva."

"I don't doubt you would," Donna nodded with agreement. She'd only met Martha for a couple hours but it was all it took to see how much Martha cared for Minerva, "But I think this precise case might be a bit out of your reach."

Martha raised an eyebrow, "Try me."

"Well, you're Minerva's best friend and you are a doctor, maybe you can help the Doctor better than I can. There's a piece of the crystal that belonged to Kaeya lodged in Minerva's heart," Martha's eyes widened, "And it's taking a toll on Minerva. It makes her really cold at times, I mean sometimes we have to turn the heater in her room to the max just to keep her at a decent heat level. And then other times, for brief moments, Minerva doesn't act like herself, it's as if..."

"Kaeya is speaking through her," Martha finished for the ginger, remembering the moments Kaeya had done the same to Minerva, "I don't understand why she keeps doing that, and only to Minerva. I mean, why not someone else for a change? Like you?" Donna's eyes widened at the suggestion, "I didn't mean it like that!" Martha quickly amended, "I just mean, why does she only go for Minerva? When I was with them, Kaeya didn't even seem to pay attention to me. Only Minerva. Doesn't that strike a bit...odd?"

"Well...this is _all_ plain odd," Donna sighed.

"And now Kaeya's put a crystal in Minerva's heart?"

"Well, no, Kaeya didn't put the crystal. The Doctor thinks its a remnant from the makeshift necklace Minerva made while captive of that Master bloke."

"See what I mean?" Martha sighed, " _Only_ Minerva, _always_ Minerva. At first, I though Kaeya was just a jealous woman who only wanted the Doctor no matter what but then she told us how she was ill and needed help and whatnot. She _apologized_. She wouldn't just go and hurt Minerva after apologizing."

"Kaeya isn't evil. She would step aside if the Doctor chose to be with Minerva," Donna said calmly.

Martha raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that?"

"The Doctor's been telling me stuff about the princess. She was really kind, really sweet, too sweet he says."

"That's like Minerva," Martha sighed, "Too sweet for their own good. It got Kaeya killed and Minerva to the brink of it."

"...the story's repeating itself," Donna blinked and paused for a moment, realizing the strikingly similar events, "Because the effects of the crystal are more and more powerful. The Doctor says Minerva won't be able to withstand it forever. Sooner or later," Donna swallowed hard, "Minerva's going to...die."

"Why hasn't he told me about this?" Martha crossed her arms, really feeling like smacking the Doctor upside the head. Sure, she wasn't as intelligent as he was but this was her best friend, almost a sister for her, that was in danger. She had more contacts now, more experience, more ways to help fix things. Heck, even Jack and Torchwood would be able to help!

"He hasn't told anyone, not even Minerva," Donna sighed, "She's been having more problems with her family and he thought there was no point in worrying her more."

"Good call," Martha nodded, "I tell you what, though, that Martian is going to hear me out."

Donna chuckled, "Yes, he will."

But Martha rubbed her forehead with concern, "Poor Minerva, though. This is seriously the last thing she needs. Family problems, blood confusion, self-esteem doubts, and now this?"

"When you say self-esteem..." Donna trailed off.

"I've got three words for you, Donna," Martha raised three fingers for her, "Rose bloody Tyler."

"Why?"

"She was selfish, rude, two-faced, and incredibly unfair with Minerva. I hate her," Martha balled her fists up just at the thought of that woman.

At first, she tended to simply _dislike_ Rose Tyler, because, really...she hadn't met the blonde. But now, after everything, her feelings had swayed to a dark side of her. She truly hated Rose Tyler for her attitude towards Minerva. Who threatens people when they have absolutely _no_ idea what that person is dealing with? Much more, she threatened Minerva over a _man_. She acted sweet and innocent while she was with the Doctor and with Minerva was completely the opposite. And if Minerva was too sweet to hate Rose, then Martha would do it for her.

"Minerva didn't say anything about Rose," Donna thought for a moment, "Nor the Doctor," and it was true. For her, all that was said was that Rose was stuck in another parallel universe with no way out. But Minerva had never told her about her actual relationship with Rose. She could tell the Doctor had been closer to Rose just by the way he remembered her, but Minerva was just...reserved. Now that she thought of it, it looked like Minerva had actually been wanting to _avoid_ the topic ever since she joined them on the TARDIS. Donna was a curious woman, like Minerva, so she'd naturally asked about her predecessors in the TARDIS.

Minerva spoke only about Mickey Smith and Martha Jones. She did mention a Captain Jack but only vaguely as he was a companion who she never traveled with, but even _he_ had earned a kind story.

"The Doctor doesn't know how Rose treated Minerva," Martha explained, seeing the confused faces Donna had made while she thought, "Minerva didn't want to tell him because, and I quote, 'there's no reason to tarnish Rose's memory'. But the worst part is the consequences Rose's actions did to Minerva. Minerva thinks she's second best to Rose and will never be what Rose _apparently_ was."

"God I hope she doesn't become another Rose if she really was that rude," Donna shook her head.

"It kills me because Minerva's just so sweet and she has this awful habit of comparing herself to Rose. I really hoped she would talk about it with the Doctor. He would make her see how wrong she was."

"And then realize just how bad his blonde companion was," Donna added.

"She always feels so bad when she thinks of Rose, even Kaeya. But," Martha sighed, "Kaeya wasn't bad like Rose but Minerva still feels lesser than her too. This is why we've gotta look after Minerva because people will be quick to take advantage of her sweetness."

Donna recalled the manner in which Minerva had apologized to Valyn after Valyn had insulted _her_ for no reason and had to agree with Martha, "Oh yes, no one will insult her while I'm around, I swear."

Martha smiled, feeling more relaxed now that she spoke better with Donna. She felt like she could trust Donna with Minerva and her sweet personality, she could be a good sister.

Donna looked around to see most of the factory workers clearing out by soldiers, her mind wandering to her mother and granddad...and their car, "Oh my god, our car has ATMOS," She gasped, "Should I give them a call? Warn them or something?"

Martha nodded, " Better safe than sorry."

"I'll give her a call, see you around," Donna headed for the doors.

"Donna," Martha called and the ginger looked back, "Do they know where you are? Your family-I mean, that you're travelling with the Doctor?"

"Not really. Although... my granddad sorta waved us off. I didn't have time to explain."

"You just left him behind?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't tell my family. Kept it all so secret and it almost destroyed them," Martha sighed.

"In what way?"

"They ended up imprisoned. They were tortured-my mum, my dad, my sister... It wasn't the Doctor's fault, but you need to be careful. 'Cause you know the Doctor, he's wonderful, he's brilliant, but he's like fire - stand to close and people get burned."

Donna considered Martha's words...and then smiled, "Except for Minerva."

Martha chuckled, "Right, she's like impervious to it."

"Well if she's got the whole ice thing inside her, it means she's truly for the Doctor," Donna smiled and walked off.

Martha blinked for a second and got to thinking on those words...something just...clicking inside her mind...like a connection of things had just been made but she was yet to realize _what_ had been connected.

~ 0 ~

Mace, the Doctor and Minerva were striding along the docking bay of the factory, passing tables of crates filled with different objects.

"You are not coming with me," the Doctor warned Mace, "I want to talk to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him."

"It's ten miles outside London. How are you going to get there?" Mace challenged.

"I think a simple jeep would suffice," Minerva supplied as she looked from one crate to another.

"And you Minerva aren't coming either," the Doctor pointed.

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Sorry to inform you that I _am_ coming. You're not leaving me behind and that's that."

"According to the records, the Doctor travels by TARDIS," Mace intervened, the Doctor just barely accepting Minerva's choice.

"Oh no, she isn't being brought into this chaos," Minerva looked back.

The Doctor nodded, "If there is a danger of hostile aliens, I think it best to keep a super-duper time travel machine away from the front lines."

"Super duper?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, chuckling lightly.

"You do have weapons but you choose to keep them hidden," Mace stated before looking away, "Jenkins?"

"Sir!" a young soldier, Ross Jenkins, called back, approaching the trio.

"You will accompany the Doctor and Miss Souza and take orders from them."

"Can we not do the whole 'Miss Souza' thing?" Minerva frowned, "It reminds me of my mother..."

"Oh no, can't have that," the Doctor quickly cut in, "She's nothing like her mother, she's actually a good person. And by the way, I don't do orders."

"Any sign of trouble get Jenkins to declare a Code Red. And good luck, sir, ma'am," Mace saluted.

"I said no salutes."

"Now you're giving orders," Mace walked away.

The Doctor frowned, "A bit cheeky, you are," he looked down at Minerva, "Isn't he?"

"I like it when you give orders," Minerva blushed and got on her toes to kiss him.

"Well I guess it's not such a bad thing, then..." he swayed his head, making Minerva giggle and go for another kiss.

"Ugh, guys c'mon," Donna joined them, "Not even because there's a poor new guy around?"

Minerva pulled back, and glanced at Ross, "Sorry..."

Donna rolled her eyes, sighing, "Warning, that won't be the last," she said to him as he went for the needed jeep.

"Shut up Donna," the Doctor cleared his throat, also sporting a good blush on his face. He took Minerva's hand and reached for Donna's, "Come on, we're going to the country," he led both of them towards the jeep, Ross going ahead of them, "Fresh air, geniuses, what more could you ask?"

"I'm not coming with you. I've been thinking. I'm sorry... I'm going home," Donna stopped them and took her hand back.

"Really?" Minerva asked.

"I've got to."

"Well, if that's what you want. I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I wanted to take you and Minerva," the Doctor sighed, "The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the lightening skies of Cotter Palluni's World, the diamond coral reefs of Kaata Flo Ko... Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble. It's been brilliant...you've...you've saved my life and Minerva's in so many ways," Donna nodded, a small smile spreading across her face.

Minerva sighed and shook her head, "Idiot."

"You're... You're-you're just popping home for a visit. That's what you mean," the Doctor slowly started coming around.

"You dumbo," the ginger rolled her eyes.

"And then you're coming back..."

"Do you know what you are? A great, big, outer-space dunce."

"Yeah..."

"Remind me again why I decided to call you the Oncoming Storm again?" Minerva seriously considered her reasons again, wondering if they were actual _valid_.

"Mm, I believe you said it was very 'hot'," the Doctor turned to her, a wide smirk on his face.

She blushed as she recalled the moment, "Oh yes...I have got to stop saying that to you," she quickly turned away.

"Why? I quite like it," the Doctor grabbed her by her waist, pressing a kiss on her cheek.

"Because you're conceited," she batted him away, trying desperately to get out of his grip as her blush only increased.

"It's not conceited if you're speaking the truth."

"Ugh, you got that from Marcel...a _horse_!"

"Ready when you are, sir, ma'ams?" Ross called from the jeep.

"C'mon you two, before you start snogging in front of the whole UNIT workers," Donna headed for the jeep, "Give me a lift, won't yah?"

"Yes!" the pair called.

Minerva turned around and looked up at her Martian, "You don't ever say those things in front of people again."

"What?"

"Don't play innocent, Martian," she wagged a finger.

He just laughed and took her hand, "Shall we go, my Clever Girl?" she nodded and he led her towards the jeep.

~ 0 ~

The jeep pulled up around the corner of Donna's road, the Doctor stepped out first followed by Minerva and Donna.

"I'll walk the rest of the way. I'll see you back at the factory, yeah?" Donna looked between them.

"Be careful, alright?" Minerva gave her a hug, "And get rid of your car for the moment."

"Believe me, that's the first thing I'll be doing," Donna pulled back.

"Well I sure hope the first would be to hug your family," Minerva smiled sadly, Donna immediately picking up her thoughts of her own family.

"We should go," the Doctor pulled Minerva back to the jeep, "Hey," he cupped Minerva's face and made her look up, "Your grandmother would kill to get your hugs."

"But my mom wouldn't..." she mumbled, "...in fact, I think she'd pay to get me away."

"Her loss because I would pay gold to get your hugs," he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

She smiled afterwards and hugged him, "I would give everything I have to get your kisses."

"I promise I'll give you more as soon as we're done here," he then helped her into the jeep, keeping her as close as possible to him.

~ 0 ~

Donna and Wilf sat at the kitchen table, having tea, where Donna explained what really happened the last day he'd seen her.

"I said so, didn't I? Aliens. I said they were real. I just didn't expect them in a little blue box..." Wilf said.

"It's bigger on the inside."

"Yeah, but is it safe, then? This Doctor, and Minerva, are you safe with them?"

"He's amazing, Gramps. He's just... dazzling. And never tell him I said that," Donna warned, "And Minerva, she's...incredibly sweet, granddad. She was like me, you know, she wanted something more than just the plain ole human life. We get along fantastically! And, she would never let anything happen to me or the Doctor. I trust her and the Doctor with my life."

"Hold up. I thought that was my job," Wilf joked.

"You still come first," she smiled warmly.

"For God's sake, don't tell your mother."

"I don't know. I mean, this is massive. It's sort of not fair if she doesn't know."

Sylvia Noble walked in with the laundry basked in her arms, "Doesn't know what? And who's "she", the cat's mother?" she placed the basket on the counter and started folding, "And where have you been these past few days, lady, after that silly little trick with the car keys? I phoned Veena and she said she hadn't seen hide nor hair."

"I've been... travelling," Donna sighed.

"Oh, hark at her, Michael Palin. Are you staying for tea? 'Cause I haven't got anything in. I've been trying to keep your granddad on that macrobiotic diet but he sneaks off and gets pork pies at the petrol station," Wilf opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off, "Don't deny it. I've seen the wrappers in the car. Oh, I don't miss a trick," but her father and daughter shared a smile behind her back, "Now then, what were gonna tell me? What don't I know?"

"Nothing. Just... nothing."

"Good. Right, then. You can sit there and cut out those coupons. Every penny helps. This new mortgage won't pay for itself. Dad, kettle on."

Wilf stood up, "Yeah, kettle on," he winked at Donna.

She smiled and looked at her mother, not helping in thinking of Minerva's mother and how awful she sounded, "Hey mum..."

"Yeah?"

"...I love you," Donna felt weird saying those words seeing as she never really openly said it. But this was her mother after all, and _much_ better than Minerva's mother. Minerva was right, it didn't matter how bad she thought her relationship was with her mother...Sylvia outranked Sophia in a heartbeat.

~ 0 ~

"UNIT's been watching the Rattigan Academy for ages. It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets," Ross was explaining to the Doctor and Minerva while he drove them to the academy.

" _Turn left_ ," ATMOS device ordered.

"I'm a bit confused Ross," Minerva eyed the device, "If UNIT thinks that ATMOS is dodgy-"

"How come we've got it in the Jeeps?"

"Sort of, yeah," she nodded.

"Ha, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them until we can prove there's something wrong."

 _"Turn right."_

"Drives me around the bend," Ross turned into the school drive.

"Oh, nice one," remarked the Doctor.

"Timed that perfectly."

"Ha. Yeah. You did."

 _"This is your final destination."_

~ 0 ~

Luke Rattigan stood on the entrance of the academy, watching the rest of the students run past for their physical education.

"Is it PE? I wouldn't mind a kick-around. Got me daps on," the Doctor called, he, Minerva and Ross approaching them.

"Ugh, that class was my least favorite," Minerva shook her head, "I hate wearing sweatpants. They make me feel all under-dressed and...ugh," she shivered.

"I bet you look lovely in them," the Doctor wound his arm around her waist.

"No I do not," she shook her head.

"I suppose you're the Doctor," Luke rolled her eyes. Oh, how he hated couples.

"Hello," the Doctor waved.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead."

"Oh, we haven't got a commanding officer. Have you? Oh, this is Ross. Say hello, Ross."

"Afternoon, sir," Ross nodded.

The Doctor walked himself and Minerva up to the main doors, "Let's have a look, then! I can smell genius... in a good way."

"To me it always smells like mint," Minerva smiled at him, "Is that your natural scent?" she giggled as he blushed, ushering her inside.

~ 0 ~

The group entered one of the labs of the academy where students were currently working on advanced projects. The Doctor walked around the room, hand-in-hand with Minerva, "Oh, now... that's clever! Look!" he slipped on his glasses, "Single-molecule fabric. How thin is that?! You could pack a tent in a thimble. Oh! Gravity simulators! Terraforming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction! Ha-ha, this is brilliant! But y'know with equipment like this, you could, oh, I dunno... move to another planet or something."

"If only that was possible," Luke watched the couple move around.

"Somehow that sounds like a conditional clause," Minerva remarked, "Care to elaborate?"

"I think you'd better come with me," he walked out of the room.

"All this technology..." Minerva looked around, her eyes flashing blue for a second, unnoticed by the Doctor nor Ross, "...could'be been good use in the past."

The Doctor looked at her with concern, not needing to see the blue in her eyes to know that wasn't something _she_ had thought of...it had been Kaeya.

~ 0 ~

Luke led the group into his 'office', "You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that."

"He called you a grunt. Don't call Ross a grunt, he's nice. We like Ross," the Doctor frowned.

"And who are you to qualify someone as lesser than yourself?" Minerva snapped, eyes blue once more, "Don't judge based on appearances."

"What exactly do you want?" Luke rolled his eyes.

"I was just thinking, what a responsible 18 year old. Inventing zero-carbon cars, saving the world..." the Doctor looked at Minerva for a second, knowing the crystal's effects hadn't exactly left this time. It worried him that it was taking longer than the usual to fade away, "...I mean, you're not Minerva. I know _she_ would do this for the actual benefit of the world."

"Yeah, well, I beat her to it," Luke shrugged.

Minerva shook her head, blinking as she looked around...when had they gotten to this new room? Funny, she didn't quite remember actually walking the corridors...

"Well, there is one thing Minerva would've calculated that you missed," the Doctor smiled, feeling better now that he noticed Minerva was returning to normal, "Cause ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's gonna run out faster than ever. The ATMOS system could make things worse."

Luke, in a panicked move, spoke some odd words, "Yeah, well, that's a tautology. You can't say ATMOS "system" 'cause it stands for Atmospheric Emission System. So you're saying "Atmospheric Emission System System". Do you see, Mr Conditional Clause?"

"It's been a long time since anyone's said no to you, isn't it?"

"I'm still right, though."

"So you corrected grammar, good for you. But it's not easy being the freak of the class, is it?" Minerva asked, somewhat sadly as she recalled her own childhood in school, "Everyone looking at you because you make things work in a way it's not supposed to. And then you get cast out because of it, all the rest of the children leave you out because she's 'weird' or...different."

Minerva knew she was no where near intelligent as the boy, but she was clever in her own way. Throughout her elementary and middle school years, she was always the first of her class in GPA terms, best grades for any type of exam or quiz. When the teachers spoke of something complicated that left the whole class blinking and drooling...Minerva always nodded her head and was even eager to learn more about it. It was as if her brain just craved for more information, anything she could learn she usually did.

But it left consequences.

Children would cast her out because she was the 'freak' that knew just about everything, even more than her teachers. They figured she'd rather read boring ole books than play jump rope or kickball. And as she grew up, into her middle school years, things only got worse. Her creativity, the ability to make certain things work in an unusual way, or out of the norm, served only to garner jealous glares from the other students, angry insults because she did something no one could even think of. She couldn't help it, her head simply made her see an alternative way doing things...and they actually worked. She didn't even know where the ideas would come from; they were just in her head. Even her teachers were sometimes concerned with her natural way, but in the end they let it slide because she was doing remarkably well.

Even her parents thought their little girl was odd, often times shushing her when she spoke words that a five year old shouldn't even know about. Of course, as she started growing up, they figured she could use those big words and those odd connections to make her into the best lawyer of the city. Minerva could really think of only four people that never saw her as weird; her grandparents, her uncle Aaron, and Stacey. But even her own sister, Olivia, was one of the people that found her odd at times.

"In the end they just leave you alone..." she spoke quietly, not even noticing she had let a long moment of silence fall over while she remembered.

"Yeah..." Luke studied the girl of her age with a new look...empathy. It seemed they both shared a lonely childhood without any friends. Everyone else was just slow, they weren't like he or she was. It was their fault they couldn't keep up.

"It's okay, you're not alone anymore," the Doctor kissed Minerva's head, "You've got me, Martha, Donna, your grandmother, your uncle Aaron, etc. etc. etc."

She faintly smile, thinking of all the new friends she'd made during her travels. People who just saw...her. Ami, Dominique, Mickey, Jackie, Martha, Astrid, Donna...and the Doctor. Her smile grew as she thought of the most prized possession in her life now, "I have you," she looked up to the Doctor.

"Exactly," he nodded, giving her another kiss, now fully relaxed to continue on knowing his Clever Girl felt much better. He reached inside his coat's pocket and pulled out an ATMOS device, "There is absolutely no way you invented this single-handed. It might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages," he spoke to Luke then handed the device to Minerva and walked towards the teleport he was sure no one besides Luke had even realized it was a teleport, "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding this in someone's front room. Albeit, a very big front room."

"Why? What is it?" Ross asked, eyeing the purple machine up and down.

"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it? People don't question things. They just think, "Oh, it's a thing"."

"Not me, you gotta ask what it is," Minerva said, "Especially if you had a Martian for a teacher who only enforced my idea of asking about everything."

He nodded, "Exactly!"

"Leave it alone!" Luke yelled.

"See, my Clever Girl and I make these connections," the Doctor walked inside the teleport, "And this to us looks like..." he pressed a couple buttons, "A teleport!" he and Minerva exclaimed, Minerva actually excited she'd made that connection in so little of a time.

"Where'd he go?" Ross asked her, seeing the Doctor had disappeared.

"I don't know," she turned to Luke, "Where'd he go?" but he looked away without a word.

The Doctor reappeared in less than a minute and ran out of the teleport, "Ross, get Minerva out of here! Luke, you'd better come with me!"

"I don't want to go anywhere!" Minerva frowned, though immediately quieted down when an alien, who was hidden under armor, appeared in the teleport.

The Doctor used the screwdriver on the teleport and shorted out the controls, "Sontaran! That's your name, isn't it? How did I know that, eh?" he put away the screwdriver, "Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"

Ross now had his gun aimed at the Sontaran, Staal, stepping in front of Minerva, "I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce."

"That's not gonna work," the Doctor called to him, "Cordalaine signal, am I right?" he looked at the Sontaran, "Copper excitation stopping the bullets."

"How do you know so much?" Staal demanded, eyeing the other two humans beside Luke.

"Well..." the Doctor stared moving around the room,

"Who is he?" Staal questioned Luke.

"He didn't give his name."

The Doctor leaned back on the desk, completely calm, "This isn't typical Sontaran behavior, is it? Hiding? Using teenagers? Stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!"

"You dishonor me!"

"Then show yourself."

"I will look into my enemy's eyes," Staal removed his helmet and allowed them to see his brown-domed shaped head with no actual neck visible.

"Oh, my God..." Ross lowered his gun and moved beside Minerva, the brunette also blinking with wide eyes.

"And your name?" the Doctor asked, not perturbed by the appearance.

"General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet. Staal the Undefeated."

"That's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated? "Staal-The-Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind"?"

Ross scoffed and shook his head, "Looks like a potato, a baked potato. A talking baked potato."

"Now, Ross, don't be rude. You look like a pink weasel to him."

"Hey!" Minerva shot him a mock-glare.

"He started it," he pointed to Ross with a brief scare, "But in all honesty, you would make the most adorable little weasel."

"That's not helping," she crossed her arms, her glare threatening to turn into an actual glare.

"And moving on," he quickly mumbled and turned to the Sontaran. He loved his Clever Girl but when she got angry, which thankfully hadn't really happened yet, he admitted it would be far easier to deal with Sontarans, the finest warriors of the galaxy, "Where were we?" he picked up a racket as he moved around.

"Introducing us," Minerva muttered, still casting a very dangerous look to him.

"Right, the Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy," he cautiously walked to her, "Dedicated to a life of warfare. A clone race grown in batches of millions with only one weakness-"

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal cut in.

"No, it's a good weakness."

"Aren't you meant to be clever? Only an idiot would provoke him," Luke snapped.

"But the Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of the neck. That's their weak spot, which means they always have to face their enemy in battle. Isn't that brilliant? They can never turn their backs!" he looked down at Minerva, hoping she was past their little moment.

"Dangerous terrain, Martian," she wagged a finger, but he still smiled as he knew she was now joking.

"We stare into the face of death!" Staal exclaimed.

"Yeah? Well, stare at this!" he hit the ball with the racket and made it bounce off the teleport to Staal's probic vent, making the alien stagger around, "Out! Out! Out!" he pushed Minerva and Ross out the door.

"What have you done? What have you done?" Luke rushed over to Staal.

~ 0 ~

"What exactly have you done!?" Minerva exclaimed as she clambered into the jeep.

"Angered the enemy,"the Doctor replied, Ross starting up the jeep.

"Ever so wise!" she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Drive," he ordered Ross in a grunt as he rubbed his side. He reached for the jeep's radio and made contact with UNIT while Ross drove,"Greyhound Forty to Trap One. Repeat: can you hear me? Over."

"Why is it not working?" Ross frowned, trying to push some buttons to reactivate the connection.

"Must be the Sontarans. If they can trace that, they can isolate the ATMOS," the Doctor frown.

 _"Turn left."_

"Try going right," the Doctor instructed.

"It says left."

"Just try it," Minerva said, "If they found us I'm pretty sure we don't want to go where the stupid device tells us to."

But Ross removed his hands from the wheel as it turned on its own, "I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop," he tried the door next, "The doors are locked!"

The Doctor tried using the screwdriver on the device, " Argh! It's deadlocked! I can't stop it!"

 _"Turn left._ " and the keep swerved to the left.

"The sat-nav's just a box, wired through the whole car," Ross blinked.

"Enough talk, do something, Martian," Minerva looked around frantically.

The tires screeched as the jeep swerved off the road. "We're heading for the river!" Ross cried.

Above them, the blue light sped to catch up with the jeep...

"ATMOS, are you programmed to contradict my orders?" the Doctor asked, frantically as he saw the river growing closer and closer.

 _"Confirmed."_

"Anything I say, you'll ignore it?"

"Confirmed."

"Then-"

The brakes had started to squeal as it was forced into a halt, a couple sparks flying from the wheel and around the GPS inside the car, the doors unlocking as well.

"They've opened!" Ross pushed the door open and clambered out.

"How'd that happen?" Minerva asked as the Doctor helped her out.

" _Turn right. Left. Left. Right._ " the ATMOS device started on a loop, the voice growing pitchy.

"Get down!" the Doctor ordered and they all went to the ground.

The blue light engulfed the whole jeep, " _Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right,_ " the light glowed and made the panel inside the car spark harder with smoke.

The Doctor lifted his head to see the jeep, the blue light gone, "Oh...was that it?"

"Yes, next time let's ask for a bigger explosion," Minerva brought his head back to her, he had taken her into his arms, nearly stuffed under him in case the 'explosion' lurched out anything harmful, "Dangerous terrain, Martian."

"Are you really upset with me?" he felt compelled to ask just in case.

She giggled as her finger ran down his tie, "I'm sure you can make it up to me later," she lifted her head and gave him a short kiss that still left him to blush, "But first we've got to get back to Donna," she tapped his nose and laughed, getting up to go see her ginger sister.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! Wow, been some time since an update has happened, oops .. Hadn't meant for that to happen but I've been in-between doctors, dealing with family issues and school dilemmas. Hopefully I can get back to my regular schedule lol.

I decided to break up the two episodes for length problems and the content in the next chapter. Didn't want to cram in too much. I may just update quicker just because it's separate though, so hooray :)

So I figured out that my last chapter mysteriously deleted a part I'd written to introduce the festival that was visited in the end of the chapter. I went back and added it if anyone was curious to know where exactly the trio had landed.

*squeals back* I know right!? I've been dying to post that chapter for some time now! There's more good moments to come though, promise!

Wow, thank you! I'm glad to know my characters are likable lol. Really, thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot to know that my ideas are valid and good! Like I said above, I'll hopefully be getting back to my regular updating. The following chapters are going to be more dramatic and have some revelations! :)

I did now, lol, I've updated! And thank you! I'll try to update more again ;)

Aw, sorry about that. I've had some problems viewing reviews as well *sigh. Hopefully the site will fix itself and the problem will go away. Oh no, I have plans to continue the story going through 11. Fun fact, I've actually finished writing season 5 now so you can definitely expect some more 'Minnie/Doctor' lol. I really should come up with a ship name .. Omg, really!? Awww, that's so sweet! Those goldfishies have no idea what history their names have lmao.

So, Martha now knows about the crystal in Minerva's heart...what do you think will happen next? ;) :o

Heads up, next chapter will be a bit...hectic. I did promise that by the Doctor's Daughter chapter it would be emotional ;) Something happens and someone isn't very happy about it.


	10. The Old Team Together, Part 2

Minerva and the Doctor stood on Donna's front porch, the Doctor ringing the doorbell so rapidly and repeatedly that Minerva had to yank his hand off it before Donna actually got the chance to open up. When she opened up, however, she was already shooting an irritated glare at the Doctor, knowing it _had_ to be _him_ ringing the doorbell.

"Our day isn't going so well," Minerva tried to excuse her Martian with that.

Once Donna was caught up with the situation, she had shown the Doctor to their car in the street where he quickly got to work with the ATMOS device underneath the car. He opened the bonnet as Donna tried ringing Martha on her cellphone.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle," Ross informed the pair before leaving.

"Anything without ATMOS. And don't point your gun at people," the Doctor warned and Ross ran off.

Wilf came out of the house as he saw his granddaughter with whom he assumed to be the Doctor and Minerva, "Is it him? Is it him? Is it the Doctor? And Minerva?" he saw the Doctor checking under the bonnet then Minerva who stood beside, "Oi, it's you," he looked between them.

"Oh my god it is!" Minerva exclaimed, surprised.

"Who?" the Doctor looked up and recognized Wilf as the stallholder from the past Christmas, "Oh...it's you!" he moved to stand beside Minerva.

"What, have you met before?" Donna looked between the trio.

"Yeah, Christmas Eve. They disappeared right in front of me," Wilf pointed at them.

"And you never said?!" Donna exclaimed.

"Well, _you_ never said," Wilf shrugged then directed himself to the Doctor, "Wilf, sir. Wilfred Mott. You must be one of them aliens."

"Well, yeah, but don't shout it out," the Doctor shook his hand, "Nice to meet you properly, Wilf."

"Ah, an alien hand," Wilf chuckled.

"Would you like to shake a human?" Minerva offered her hand up.

"You're Minerva," Wilfred shook her hand.

"Minerva Souza, nice to meet you too," she smiled.

"Donna, anything?" the Doctor asked as Donna still worked with her phone.

"She's not answering. What's it, "Sontiruns"?"

"Sontarans. But there's got to be more to it. They can't be just remote-controlling cars. That's not enough. Is anyone answering?"

"Hold on," Donna tried ringing again. Finally, her call was answered, "Martha, hold on, he's here," she handed the phone to the Doctor.

"Martha, tell Col Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file, Code Red Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory, tell him not to start shooting, UNIT will get massacred. I'll get back as soon as I can. You got that?" and he hung up on Martha, handing the cell phone back to Donna. He whipped out the screwdriver and went under the bonnet of the car.

"You've tried sonicking it before. You didn't find anything," Donna remarked.

"Yeah, but now I know it's Sontaran, I know what I'm looking for."

"The thing is, Doctor, Minerva, that Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're gonna take care of her," Wilf said, concerned as he looked at Donna.

"Believe me Wilf, Donna takes care of _us_ ," Minerva smiled at the ginger, "She's like my older sister."

"Oh, because you're eighteen I'm automatically the older one?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Well...we could be fraternal twins if you'd like? You'd be the older twin, course."

Donna shook her head, "Right then, but I'd get to boss you around because I'm older."

"Don't think she's joking," Wilf warned, "She was always bossing us around even when she was tiny. "The Little General" we used to call her."

Minerva chuckled, "I'd love to see that! Baby Donna telling everyone what to do."

"Yeah, don't start," she warned both of them.

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with - a different one every week," Wilf continued.

"Wonder if that'll be hereditary then," Donna nudged Minerva.

"Don't you dare!" the Doctor called from his place.

Minerva giggled, "Sorry Donna, but I'm sort of in love with a Martian."

" _That's_ what happened!" Donna clapped her hands suddenly, startling Minerva.

"What did?"

"You said the three little words," Donna laughed excitedly, "Now I get it! Why you were so close to each other lately. And then India, dear Lord..."

Minerva blushed and looked away, "Maybe."

Spikes shot out of the holes in the device the Doctor was looking at in the car, "Whoa! It's a temporal pocket! I knew there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time."

"But what's it hiding?" Minerva asked, wanting to get rid of her blush thanks to Donna.

Sylvia walked up to the group as they all looked under the bonnet, "I dunno, men and their cars! Sometimes I think if I was a car..." but then she saw the Doctor and Minerva, "Oh, it's you! Doctor-what was it?" she looked at Minerva, completely forgetting her name.

"Yeah, that's me," the Doctor waved her a hand without looking up.

"Minerva," the brunette called, "Nice to see you again!"

"Have you met them as well?" Wilf asked curiously.

"Dad, it's the man and woman from the wedding! When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you, last time they turned up, it was a disaster!"

And then gas shot out of the device as if to prove Sylvia's point.

"Get back!" the Doctor ordered and stepped back with Minerva.

"If we don't stop it it'll kill us all," Minerva felt the need to point out. The Doctor sighed and pushed her farther back before using the sonic on the car again. In a couple minutes the car shot sparks but the gas was stopped, "That'll stop it!" he cheered.

"I told you! He's blown up the car!" Sylvia went into a fit, "Who are they anyways? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"

"Oh, not now, Mum!" Donna waved her off.

"Oh, should I make an appointment?" Sylvia snapped and stalked off.

"Not the best way to have a good relationship," Minerva warned Donna.

"Sometimes she's completely impossible!"

"But she loves you, that's the point," Minerva sighed, "Be grateful."

Donna smiled sadly and nodded then put an arm around Minerva's shoulders, knowing how the brunette felt her mom didn't love her. Donna wanted for some time now to tell Minerva about her father who'd requested she know nothing of the reality of his condition. That definitely meant her father cared for her! But they had all agreed to listen to Nicolas's request until they deemed it necessary. Minerva simply had too much on her plate and was becoming more of a fragile thing that needed to stay stable as much as possible.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes. Some sort of gas. Artificial gas," the Doctor explained to the group.

"And it's aliens, is it? Aliens?" Wilf asked.

"Doctor, if its poisonous..." Minerva looked around to all the other cars, seeing all them bearing an ATMOS sticker on their windows, " Then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth."

"It's not safe. I'm gonna get it off the street," Wilf quickly got into the car and shut the door behind, automatically locking.

"No, don't!" Donna called as the car started up and exhaust came out the tailpipe, "Shut it off!" Wilf shook his head, unable to do anything, "Granddad, get out of there!" she tried to open the door.

"I can't! It's locked!" he held up the keys, "It's the aliens again!" he banged on the window.

"What's he doing? What's he done?" Sylvia called from the front porch.

"I've isolated it!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"There's gas inside the car! He's gonna choke! Doctor!"Donna cried while the Doctor tried opening the car with the screwdriver, "It won't open!" he heard the other car alarms and looked around to see all of them emitting the same gas, "It's the whole world..."

"Help me!" Wilf cried weakly.

The Doctor ran back to check the engine, yanking some wires out but it did nothing. He moved to the middle of the road to see all the cars emitting gas...and he couldn't do _anything_.

"Doctor, look!" Minerva called, pointing up at a blue light rushing down to the Noble's car.

The Doctor pulled Minerva behind him in case the light had anymore funny ideas with her. But instead of going to them, the light went down to the car and engulfed it in its glow. Suddenly, the windows shattered into pieces and allowed an escape for Wilf.

"It _helped_ ," Minerva moved around the Doctor and stepped towards the car, meanwhile Donna helped her grandfather out the car.

"Minerva," the Doctor warned as she reached to touch the blue light now floating in front of her.

"No, it...it's okay..."

"It hurt you," the Doctor reminded, panicking as the air started filling up with the toxic gas.

"It didn't mean to," Minerva tried to explain as she stared at the light, "You didn't, did you?" she whispered to it. The Doctor stiffened as he saw her put a hand over her chest, "What are you...?" she asked the light, feeling her chest compress suddenly, "...have we met before?" she felt the need to ask. She could still sense that familiar feeling the light gave off and how it increased the more she focused.

"Doctor! This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS," Ross pulled up the road with a black cab, snapping the pair out of the moment. The light quickly rushed up above without being noticed.

The Doctor pulled Minerva with him and ran to the cab, getting Minerva inside first then looking back to see Donna was still with her family, "Donna, you coming?"

"Yeah!" she nodded and hurried for them.

"Donna! Don't go! Look what happens every time that Doctor and Minerva appears! Stay with us, please," Sylvia called.

"You go my darling!" Wilf exclaimed.

"Dad!" Sylvia turned to him, appalled he was letting her go.

"Don't listen to her! You go with them! That's my girl!... "

Donna got into the cab along with the others, feeling a tad guilty for leaving them. But she knew everything would be alright in the end just like it always was.

~ 0 ~

"The air is disgusting!" Donna coughed, Minerva nodding in agreement as they stood in front of the ATMOS factory.

The Doctor looked down at Minerva, hoping for once the crystal inside her would activate and help her breathe a little easier. He had a plan and it involved the TARDIS being moved around...and he didn't want to send Minerva along with it, but she really looked like she could choke on the air like Donna and sighed, "It's not so bad for me, go on, get inside the TARDIS."

"But I want to stay with you," Minerva pouted in between her coughs.

"I can't have you around like that, go on and keep Donna company," he gave her a kiss and motioned for her to go.

"Please be careful," she said quietly, reaching on her toes to kiss him again.

"I will if you will," he nodded and sent her off with Donna.

~ 0 ~

"Right then, here I am, good. Whatever you do, Colonel Mace, do not engage the Sontarans in battle, there is nothing they like better than a war. Just leave this to me," the Doctor rejoined the others, his gaze lingering on 'Martha' for a bit. Frankly with that smell she was giving off she may as well put up a banner declaring she was a clone to everyone.

"And what are you going to do?" Mace asked him.

"I've got the TARDIS, I'm gonna get on board their ship."

Martha-clone pressed a button on her PDA, the hypnotized privates activating.

"Come on!" the Doctor told her, receiving a smile back.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor ran down the alleyway to see the TARDIS gone, Martha-clone right behind him.

"But... where's the TARDIS?" she asked innocently.

"Taste that, in the air. Yuck," the Doctor made a face, ""That sort of metal tang. Teleport exchange. It's the Sontarans, they've taken it. I'm stuck, on Earth like... like an ordinary person," he blinked, "And without my Clever Girl! How rubbish is that! Come on!" the Doctor started back for the factory.

"So what do we do?" Martha asked as she hurried behind him.

He looked back and sighed, "Well... I mean it's shielded, they could never detect it..." he stared at her for a little longer.

"What?" she tried to seem not that irritated with the look.

"I'm just wondering, have you phoned your family and Tom?"

"No, what for?" she shrugged.

"The gas. Tell them to stay inside."

"Course I will, yeah," she tried to wave it off as casual as possible, "But, what about Minerva and Donna? I mean, where are they?"

"Oh, Donna's gone home. She's not like you, she's not a soldier. Minerva felt ill and accompanied her back home till I finished up here. Right. So, avanti!"

~ 0 ~

"Change of plan!" the Doctor and Martha-clone entered the UNIT base.

"Good to have you fighting alongside us, Doctor," Mace smiled.

"I'm not fighting, I'm not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it?" the Doctor clarified, "Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

"We're working on it," Martha-clone replied.

"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80% density. We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City," Captain Price came over.

"And who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"Captain Marion Price, sir."

"Oh, put your hand down. Don't salute," the Doctor sighed, did people just not listen to him? When would he garner a face that people listened to!?

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from 5000 miles above the Earth. We're guessing that's what triggered the cars," Mace explained.

"The Sontaran ship."

" NATO has gone to Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."

"You can't do that, nuclear missiles won't even scratch the surface," the Doctor shook his head, "Let me talk to the Sontarans."

"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth."

"I've got that authority, I earned that a long time ago," the Doctor used the screwdriver to connect the UNIT systems to the Sontaran ship, "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement. This is The Doctor."

~ 0 ~

In the TARDIS, Minerva and Donna could hear the Doctor's voice coming from the monitor.

"Doctor!" Minerva rushed to the monitor, blinking as she though she'd seen something on the screen for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Donna joined her a few seconds later, seeing her stare down at the screen with an almost frown.

"No, nothing, it's just...for a second there...I thought I saw Rose Tyler's face," Minerva rubbed her eyes, "I must be finally cracking."

Donna frowned as she remembered what Martha had told her about Rose. She shook her head and swung her arm around Minerva's shoulders, "Good thing you've got a doctor for a boyfriend to help."

Minerva faintly smiled, her eyes looking at the screen again, only seeing the Doctor. Even if it was for a split second, the thought of seeing Rose again would truly be the last straw for her health. So many things went unresolved with that blonde that she couldn't even begin to imagine how it would go down if they were ever to re-meet again. Thank goodness she'd never have to face Rose again in her life. Even Kaeya would be a lot easier to to meet!

~ 0 ~

"Doctor, breathing your last?" Staal, the Sontaran, appeared on the UNIT screen.

"My God, they're like trolls," Mace blinked.

"Yeah, loving the diplomacy, thanks," the Doctor mumbled to him then spoke louder as he directed to the Sontarans, "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?"

"How dare you!"

"Oh, that's diplomacy?" Mace raised an eyebrow.

"Doctor, you impugn my honor!" Staal cried.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say belittle because then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? Or, are you lot planning something else? Because this isn't normal Sontaran warfare," the Doctor leaned forwards on his seat, "What are you lot up to?"

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing forces," Staal replied.

"Aaah, the war's not going so well, then? Losing, are we?"

"Such a suggestion is impossible."

"What war?" Mace cut in with a question.

"The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans," the Doctor replied, "It's been raging, far out in the stars for 50,000 years. 50,000 years of bloodshed, and for what?"

"For victory. Sontar-ha!"

"Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!" the other Sontarans joined in on the chant.

"Oh give me a break," the Doctor rolled his eyes and pulled out the screwdriver, changing the channels to a cartoon.

"Doctor. I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation," Mace said but was blatantly ignored.

The Doctor changed the channel back to the Sontaran, "Finished?"

"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you'll see our prize. Behold!" Staal gestured to the TARDIS behind him, "We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."

" Well. As prizes go, that's... noble," the Doctor spoke slowly, "As they say in Latin, Donna nobis pacem. Plus, that box is like a goddess...used for wars, pretty clever, goddess of wisdom..."

~ 0 ~

"Oh that's us," Donna cheered, Minerva chuckling, "We're here!"

~ 0 ~

"Did you never wonder about its design? It's phone box. It contains a phone. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could communicate. You and I," the Doctor eyed the screen, severely missing his Clever Girl as he realized she was far away from him and that was farthest they'd been since they'd first met Martha.

"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor," Staal said.

~ 0 ~

"Oh my god," Donna breathed as Minerva picked up the cellphone from underneath the console.

"Big mistake though. Showing it to me," the Doctor continued from the screen, "Because I've got remote control. "

"Cease transmission!" Staal ordered.

"Doctor, what number are you on?" Donna asked as the screen went black, she looked over to Minerva, "We don't have a number!"

Minerva just smiled, "Oh yes we do."

~ 0 ~

"Oh well," the Doctor stood up from his chair.

"That's achieved nothing," Mace snapped.

"Oh you'd be surprised, I've got a Clever Girl up there..."

~ 0 ~

"Who are you going to call?" Donna asked as Minerva dialed on the phone.

"Martha of course, my best friend shall pick up," Minerva put the phone on her ear.

"Right, Martha!"

Minerva waited as the phone rang and rang, frowning when no one answered, "That's funny, Martha _always_ answers me."

"Try again," Donna offered.

Minerva nodded and dialed once more...coming up with the same results. She closed the cellphone and thought for a while more.

"So...what happens now?" Donna asked.

"I'm not sure," Minerva leaned against the console, "I've got no one else to call that can help. Martha was it. She never gave me the number for UNIT."

Donna blinked, "So we're stuck here...on our own?"

Minerva looked up and saw the ginger terrified, "But it'll be okay because I know the Martian has a plan. He'll get us out of here."

"Okay," Donna nodded, looking to the side.

Minerva hugged her tight, "I promise Donna, it'll be okay. And you know what," she pulled away, "Maybe you can call someone instead."

"But no one can help us right now."

"Just call home and talk to your granddad," Minerva held the phone to her.

"You don't want to call anyone?"

"I don't want to worry my grandmother. Uncle Aaron's probably working with Cody. And let's face it, my mother just doesn't care."

Donna now gave her a hug, "But we care."

"Yeah," Minerva whispered, not having the heart to tell the ginger that while she truly appreciated her, she could always use her mother's affection.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor snatched a clipboard Martha-clone was holding, "There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides but 10% unidentified," she explained while he looked it over, "Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

"Must be something the Sontarans invented. This isn't just poison, they need this gas for something else. What could that be?"

"Launch grid online and active," called Captain Price.

"Positions ladies and gentlemen, Defcon One initiatives in progress," Mace said.

The Doctor looked up from the clipboard, "What?! I told you not to launch!"

"The gas is at 60% density, 80% and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."

"Launching in 60, 59, 58, 57, 56… Worldwide nuclear grid now coordinating. 54, 53..."

"You're making a mistake, Colonel! For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you," the Doctor was trying very hard not to yell at the moment. But his mind drifted to his Clever Girl who was currently with the Sontarans and well...it added to his struggle.

Captain Price was reading off a screen, "North America, online. United Kingdom, online. France, online. India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and coordinated. Launching in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."

"God save us," Mace mumbled.

"...4, 3, 2, 1... "

Martha-clone simply pressed 'No' on her PDA.

"..0."

And the screen shut off.

"What is it? What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?" Mace asked with concern.

"Negative, sir. The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

"Can we override it?"

"Trying it now, sir."

"Missiles wouldn't even dent that ship, so why are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?" the Doctor turned to Martha-clone, "Any ideas?"

"How should I know?" Martha-clone asked, innocently.

But their conversation was cut short by Ross's voice coming through a radio, alerting them Sontarans had infiltrated the factory, "Enemy within! At arms! Greyhound 40 declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six."

"Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red!" Mace answered through his radio.

"Get them out of there!" the Doctor shouted to the Colonel.

"All troops, open fire!" Mace just ignored him and gave the order.

~ 0 ~

Ross and the soldiers opened fire but their guns only clicked. Ross spoke into his radio again, "The guns aren't working. Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work."

The Sontarans started shooting at the soldiers, making them fall to the ground dead while others screamed.

"Tell the Doctor it's that Cordolaine signal. He's the only one who can stop them," Ross said before he prepared to be shot as well.

Just as the Sontarans moved to shoot him, the blue light rushed in front of Ross, creating a barrier that blocked the firing.

"It's cold..." Rows shivered, hugging himself as the cold engulfed the area around him.

The Sontarans, displeased their shooting wasn't working, shot more and more with strength. But before their eyes Ross faded away...

~ 0 ~

"Greyhound 40, report. Over. Greyhound 40, report. Greyhound 40, report!" Mace repeatedly commanded from his radio.

"He wasn't Greyhound 40, his name was Ross. Now listen to me, and GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" the Doctor had lost his patience with the man.

"Trap One to all stations. Retreat," Mace finally gave the order, " Order imperative, immediate retreat!"

"Sir?" they heard behind them.

Mace and the Doctor turned around to see Ross standing in front of them, still shivering from the cold, "I have _no_ idea how I ended here..." the man informed.

"The light..." the Doctor mumbled, "...a blue light, yes?" Ross nodded, "What is it? What is that thing!?" he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"She's trying to return..." Ross shivered.

"It _talks_!?" the Doctor groaned, one additional thing he didn't know how to explain, wonderful.

"It doesn't talk, it...I don't even know," Ross gave up on the explanation, "Just hums...

"They've taken the factory," Mace declared, bringing them back to the situation.

"Why? They don't need it. Why attack now? What are they up to?" the Doctor couldn't take more mysteries, "Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offence," he turned away as he thought some more, still occasionally glancing at Ross who was now sat in an office with a blanket around him.

"None taken. Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru," Mace spoke, oblivious to the Doctor's distraction.

"Launch grid back online," Captain Price called.

The computer screen in front turned on to show a map of the world. But yet again, Martha-clone pressed 'No Launch' on her PDA and the screen went black again.

"They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself," Captain Price sighed

"Trace it. Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?" Mace asked.

"66% in major population areas. And rising."

"Why are they defending the factory only after we were inside?"

"Because they wanted UNIT here. You gave them something they needed. Something now hidden inside the factory. Something precious," the Doctor informed, now eyeing Martha-clone.

"Then we've got to recover it. This Cordolaine signal thing, how does it work?"

"The bullets. It causes expansion of the copper shell."

"Excellent. I'm on it," Mace stood up and left.

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" the Doctor followed him out to, but stopped at a near officer and spoke quietly so Martha-clone wouldn't hear, " Phone. Have you got a phone? I need your mobile, quickly, hurry up!"

~ 0 ~

Donna watched Minerva walk back into the console room holding a several books in her arms. While they waited for the Doctor to begin the mysterious plan, Minerva had gone off into the corridors for a good fifteen minutes and now suddenly she returned with books.

"Minerva, what are you doing?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

Minerva sheepishly smiled as she took a seat on the console chairs, "I thought I'd continue the search for Kaeya in the meantime we had to wait."

"Really?" Donna laughed, "Only you!"

"Well, it's better than wasting time."

"So what do you got so far?" Donna curiously asked. She hadn't actually joined the search for the princess, she wouldn't know how anyways. She'd instead focused on anything the Doctor needed concerning the crystal in Minerva's heart.

"Bit of a rash theory, actually," Minerva sighed.

"What is it?" Donna noticed the sudden change in Minerva's attitude.

"Can you not tell the Doctor, though?" Minerva made sure before she spoke, "I don't want to bring anything that I'm not sure about yet."

"I won't say anything," Donna promised.

"Okay, so, the Doctor told me a story Zohar told him in the shop. He said Zohar mentioned that the ancestors of the Moontsays met a group of banished Time Lords, and she said that they'd gotten together to build what the Monsoon used to be."

"Okay, got you so far," Donna nodded.

"Well, I just got to thinking about the origins of the Monsoon so I started to dig through and I came up with very vague details. It's weird because...the more I look, the more I think that the information is being...hidden."

"Hidden?" Donna frowned, "What? Like purposely hidden?"

"It wouldn't be surprising," Minerva shrugged, "It's like the Time Lords. The Doctor's shown me some books in the library, only the covers though. It's got loads of information of his people and the planet, but it's information that was kept away from the public eye. The Doctor keeps to that tradition even from me."

"Really? Not even _you_?" Donna couldn't help doubt Minerva's words, "But you just batter your eyes and he'll do anything you want."

Minerva smiled, "I haven't tried that with those books and I won't. It's a tradition for him, something sacred. I'm not allowed to see it. _So_ , it got me thinking that the Moontsays could've done that with some of their history. I mean, if they built the Monsoon with Time Lords it's possible they could've come to share some customs."

"Okay, but...I don't understand...what's the problem, then?"

Minerva took a deep breath, "Donna, what I've been thinking is a bit impossible but the more I look into stuff like the miraculous recovery of the Monsoon queen, and then the sudden 'no pictures' of her afterwards, lead me to believe it may not be so impossible..."

"And that would be?"

"The injuries Kaeya had, the ones I saw, they looked impossible to recover from, her mother recovered from a terminal illness with no explanation, their history is being hidden, the ultimate myth of the Moontsays..." Minerva looked at Donna, now complete serious, "...what if...what if the ancestors of the Moontsays not only shared customs with the Time Lords but ab-"

But they were interrupted when the cellphone rang, Minerva quickly forgetting the conversation as she answered,putting it on speaker, "What's happened, where are you?" she quickly asked.

"Still on Earth. But don't worry, I've got my secret weapon," the Doctor replied, Minerva already knowing he was wearing a wide smirk on his face.

"What's that?" Donna asked.

"My Clever Girl and her ginger sister, of course."

Minerva and Donna exchanged a glance, Donna shaking her head, "Oh. Somehow that's not making me happy. Can't you just zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"

"Yeah, I haven't got a remote, though I really should. But I need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the TARDIS. Minerva, I'm _really_ sorry, but you've got to go outside."

"But there's Sonterruns out there," Donna reminded, her terror beginning to rise.

"Sontarans, but they'll all be on battle stations right now. They don't walk around having coffee. I can talk you through it."

"But what if they find us?"

"I know, and I wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else I can do. The whole planet is choking."

Minerva took Donna's hand and sighed, "It's okay, we'll do it. What d'you need us to do, Martian?"

"The Sontarans are inside the factory which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have deadlocked it. I need you to reopen the link."

"But, I can't even mend a fuse," Donna reminded.

"Donna! Stop talking about yourself like that," the Doctor snapped, "You can do this. I promise."

"I know you can too," Minerva squeezed her hand, "We can be like a partner in crime team."

Donna sighed and let Minerva walk them to the doors where they opened the door to see a Sontaran. Donna quickly closed the door, now more terrified than ever.

"There's a Sonterrun... Sontaran," Donna spoke through the phone.

"Did he see you?" the Doctor quickly asked.

"No, he's got his back to us," Minerva replied.

"Right, listen, remember on the back of his neck is the Probic Vent that knocks them out."

"A what?" Donna asked, a bit behind

"It was on his collar there's a sort of plug, like a hole," Minerva tried to explain it on her own, "If we hit that, we bring him down."

"But he's gonna kill us," Donna whispered.

"I'm sorry. I swear I'm so sorry. But you've got to try," the Doctor spoke softly, his guilt mounting as he thought of what he was asking his Clever Girl to do. _He_ was supposed to deal with _his_ enemies and keep her safe, not the other way around. He truly hoped that blue light would activate again and help the women out as it had before.

Minerva picked up the mallet beside the console and returned to the doors, "Here," she handed it to Donna.

"What? Why _me_?" she asked, horrified yet still taking the mallet.

"Because you don't believe in yourself and if I try to do it and succeed it won't do anything to your self esteem. So, I want _you_ to do it. Because, I _know_ you can."

Donna looked into Minerva's eyes and was blatantly surprised the woman held so much confidence in her than she herself. She took a deep breath and nodded, going to do this for herself and her sister. Minerva opened the door and looked around to see the coast was clear. Donna stepped out and snuck up behind the Sontaran and hit his probic vent.

"Back of the neck!" Donna cheered as the Sontaran collapsed on the ground.

"I knew you could do it," Minerva closed the door of the TARDIS and spoke into the phone, "Doctor, Donna did it."

"Now then you gotta find the external junction feed to the teleport," he said, a bit better now that half the danger was gone for his Clever Girl.

"What...what's it look like?" Donna asked as she looked around.

"A circular panel on the wall. Big symbol on the front, like a, like a letter T with a horizontal line through it. Or, or two F's back to back."

"Well, there's a door," Minerva walked up to it, seeing a switch on the side, "And I suppose that would be it."

"Yeah there is. But it's Sontaran-shaped, you need three fingers," Donna sighed

Minerva chuckled and wiggled her fingers, "It'll surprise you to know I've got three fingers!'

"Oh, yeah!" Donna laughed with her, her fear was getting in the way of the obvious.

Minerva put her hand on the pattern and opened the door, "We're through, Martian."

"Oh, you are brilliant, you are," the Doctor praised her, even making kissing noises through the phone.

"Thank the Lord he's not here or there would've been a snogging session," Donna shook her head, Minerva blushing as they walked into the new room.

"We don't do that all the time," Minerva tried to defend themselves but Donna just laughed.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor saw Mace returning and had to force himself to say goodbye to the women, "Got to go. Keep the line open! And please be careful, Minerva."

"Same for you, Martian," was her response back.

"Counter-attack!" Mace ordered the room.

"I said you don't stand a chance!" the Doctor walked out of the office he'd been speaking in.

"Positions. That means everyone!" Mace threw him a gas mask.

"You're not going without me!" Martha-clone was right behind the Doctor.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he mumbled.

~ 0 ~

Outside the factory, everyone was wearing gas masks with a thick fog around them. Mace was showing the Doctor a certain gun from their stock.

"Latest firing stock, what do you think, Doctor?"

"Are you my mummy?" the Doctor tilted his head.

"If you could concentrate. Bullets with a rad-steel coating, no copper surface. Should overcome the Cordolaine signal."

"But the Sontarans have got lasers! You can't even see in this fog, the night-vision doesn't work," the Doctor sighed. Seriously, did no one want to listen to him?

"Thank you Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith. But this time, I'm not listening," Mace pulled off his gas mask and addressed the soldiers, "Attention, all troops! Sontarans might think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do! Trap One to Hawk Major! Go, go, go!"

Everyone looked up as a loud sound emerged from the sky. The fog darted clearing up to allow them to see the _Valiant_ flying above.

"It's working! The area's clearing. Engines to maximum!"

"It's the _Valiant_..." the Doctor said, pulling off his mask, stunned to see the ship again.

"UNIT Carrier Ship Valiant reporting for duty, Doctor! With engines strong enough to clear away the fog," Mace declared.

"Brilliant," the Doctor mumbled.

"Getting a taste for it, Doctor?"

"No, not at all. Not me."

" _Valiant_ , fire at will!"

Green beans united and we're fired at the factory, at the same time the soldiers attacked the Sontarans and were actually overpowering the aliens.

"East and north secure. Doctor?" Mace turned to the alien then hurried off with the other soldiers.

"Minerva, Donna, hold on. I'm coming," the Doctor was on the phone.

Martha-clone appeared in front of him, "Shouldn't we follow the Colonel?"

"Nah, you and me, Martha Jones. Just like old times! We;l, almost, we're still missing the last one right? Your best friend..." he eyed her for a reaction.

"Right," she nodded a bit later, slow on the reaction. He smiled and hurried off, not seeing her once again stop the nuclear launch.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Martha-clone headed down the basement corridor, the sonic leading them into the clone room, "No Sontarans down here. They can't resist a battle. Here we go," he saw Martha, the _real_ Martha, sleeping away and ran to her, "Ooh, Martha, I'm so sorry," he checked for her pulse and thankfully found one, "Still alive."

He heard a clicking sound and looked back to see Martha-clone pointing a gun at him, "Am I supposed to be impressed?" he asked wearily.

"Wish you carried a gun now?" she smirked.

"Not at all."

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time," she declared proudly.

"Doing exactly what I wanted. I needed to stop the missiles, just as much as the Sontarans. I'm not having Earth start an interstellar war. You're a triple agent!"

"When did you know?" her smirk faded, the gun lowering just slightly

"What, you? Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple. And, frankly, you smell. You might as well have worn a T-shirt saying "clone". Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? Because you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive," and with that he pulled off the device from Martha's head, making the clone drop to the ground in agony. He kicked away the gun and hugged the real Martha, "It's all right. It's all right, I'm here, I'm here. I've got you, got you."

"There was this thing, Doctor, this alien, with this head..." Martha rambled.

The Doctor heard the phone ringing and immediately picked up, "Have you got it yet?"

"Yes. Now hurry up!" Minerva and Donna exclaimed together.

He lifted the phone from his ear a moment, "Yell the same, definitely could be sisters," he mumbled then resumed talking, "Take off the covering. All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fusebox. And that should get the teleport working."

Martha looked around and around and saw her clone sitting on the ground, panting, "Oh, my God. That's me," she gasped. As the Doctor went to work on the teleport, she approached the clone with caution, sitting beside her.

"Don't touch me!" the clone batted her away.

"It's not my fault. The Sontarans created you. But... you had all my memories."

"You've got a brother, sister, mother and father."

"If you don't help me, they're gonna die."

"You love them."

"Yes. Remember that?"

"The gas! Tell us about the gas," the Doctor shouted from the teleport pod.

"He's the enemy!" the clone shook her head.

"Then tell me. It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!" the real Martha begged.

"Caesofine concentrate. It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."

"Clonefeed!" the Doctor realized, "It's clonefeed!"

"What's clonefeed?" the real Martha asked.

"Like amniotic fluid for Sontarans. That's why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere. Changing the planet into a clone world. Earth becomes a great big hatchery. Because the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!"

"My heart... It's getting slower," the clone put a hand over her heart.

"There's nothing I can do," Martha said sadly.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you wanna do."

"And I will. Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. Cause..."

"Cause you never know how long you've got. Martha Jones... All that life."

After dying, the real Martha pulled off her engagement ring from the clone and slid it into her finger.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor," Minerva spoke into the phone, "All Blue switches done," the door behind her and Donna slid open, "Uh oh!" she looked behind to see the Sontarans, "They've found us!"

~ 0~

"Now!" the Doctor pointed the screwdriver at the teleport pod and activated it.

Donna and Minerva appeared in the pod with heavy breathing.

"I hate you!" Donna shouted at the Doctor, a mock glare at him too.

"Yeah, well, I love him!" Minerva quickly ran over to him, greeted by his arms picking her up in a tight hug.

"And I love you," he planted a big kiss on her lips, "But let's bring the TARDIS down too, shall we?" she nodded and got off him so he could use sonic the teleport again and bring the blue box down, "Right, now. Martha, you coming?"

"What about this nuclear launch thing?"

"Just keep pressing N, we want to keep those missiles on the ground."

"But there's... two of them," Donna caught sight of the clone laying on the ground.

"Yeah, long story," the Doctor took Minerva's hand and hurriedly got them all inside the teleport pod, "Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."

"We're not going back on that ship!" Donna exclaimed

"No, no, no. No. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." they teleported to Rattigan Academy, "...here! The Rattigan Academy, owned by..."

Luke was aiming a gun at them, "Don't tell anyone what I did! It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they..."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and snatched away the gun, "If I see one more gun..." he threw it away.

"You know, that coat, sort of works," Donna remarked on Martha, the woman wearing the Doctor's trench coat over her hospital-type gown.

"Feel like a kid in my dad's clothes," Martha shook her head.

Minerva laughed, "Well it looks adorable on you."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was assembling a device from things around Luke's laboratory, rambling on in the meantime, "That's why the Sontarans had to stop the missiles, they were holding back. Because, caesofine gas is volatile, that's why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement could've sparked off the whole thing."

"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?" Minerva asked, looking out the window.

"Yeah. They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"

"They promised me a new world," Luke said quietly, ashamed of his actions.

"You were building equipment, ready to terraform El Mondo Luko so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this! An atmospheric converter," and he ran out of the room with the device, the others rushing behind him.

They stood outside the academy, watching the thick gas overtaking the entire city.

"That's London. You can't even see it. My family's in there," Donna sighed.

"If I can get this on the right setting..."

"Doctor, hold on, you said the atmosphere would ignite," Martha blinked.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" the Doctor pressed a button on the device and a bright flame shot up into the sky, igniting it, "Please, please, please, please, please, please, please..." he crossed his fingers.

The sky was engulfed in a great orange flame that quickly disappeared and reverted to its natural, blue and green color.

"He's a genius!" Luke gasped.

"Just brilliant," Minerva smiled.

"Now we're in trouble!" the Doctor picked up the device and ran back into the building.

The group followed him back into Luke's laboratory, seeing the Doctor inside the teleport pod with the converter, "Right, so... Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, you too. Oh... so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Minerva I..." he couldn't finish when he saw the woman's face.

She was nearly to tears once she realized what he was going to do, "Don't you _dare."_

"Sontarans are never defeated. They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I've recalibrated this for Sontaran air, so... "

"Yeah, you're gonna ignite them. That's just so you," she shook her head, "And then you'll kill yourself. And then I'll be alone...good plan, Martian," he winced at the cold tone used on his nickname.

"Just send that thing up, on it's own. I don't know... put it on a delay," Martha suggested, moving to her best friend's side.

"I can't," the Doctor sighed.

"Why not?" Donna frowned, how could he do this when someone much more important needed his help, someone who actually _mattered_ than those stupid Sontarans.

"I've got to give them a choice," the Doctor said, yearning for a look from his Clever Girl. If he could just get one last look of her then...then perhaps he could go a little easier.

"You can't do that!" Martha nearly shouted, anger rising as she knew Minerva would never be angry for her Martian doing something noble, "You want to go and leave Minerva alone when she needs you the most? What the hell are we supposed to do with the crystal inside her heart!?"

"What?" Minerva whispered, her eyes wide.

"MARTHA!" the Doctor yelled, now furious at the woman.

"Oops," Martha covered her mouth. That hadn't been her intention, to just reveal something that serious to Minerva under these circumstances. But...perhaps if she knew now, the Doctor wouldn't leave her like that.

"What's inside my heart?" Minerva's hand flung over her chest, "Doctor?"

"Minerva I am so sorry," Martha turned to her, "I didn't mean to blurt that out!"

"What's wrong with me? What's gonna happen? Is that why I've been having all these problems lately!?" Minerva was now frantic as she thought of all the brief moments she felt like she wasn't herself, all the cold flashes, radical emotions, chest pains, etc.

Luke looked from the women to the Doctor, the empathy he for Minerva gnawing at his head. He'd done so much bad that...he felt like this could kinda make it up, and it could help the only person who seemed to understand him.

So...he ran for the teleport.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor had time only to ask when Luke pushed him out of the pod.

"Something clever," he activated the teleport and disappeared along with the converter. He found himself inside the Sontaran ship, anger burning inside him, "Liars! Sontar? Ha!" he pushed the button of the converter.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor stared helplessly at the teleport pod and the Clever Girl. Martha and Donna were on either side of her, comforting her as she wept quietly.

"Minerva..." he stepped towards her.

She looked up, her green eyes tainted with redness from her tears, "Did you know?" she asked, her voice scratchy as well, "Did you know there was a...crystal, in my heart this whole time?"

He sighed, nodding his head. There was no point in lying to her anymore, at this rate he'd only hurt her even more.

"And you never said?" her voice broke, "What's the matter with you!?" she snapped and shook off her best friend and ginger sister before walking out the room.

"Minerva!" he called after her, "Minerva!"

But she kept going.

~ 0 ~

Donna sat at her kitchen table with Wilf, awaiting for the Doctor and Minerva to give her a call. The two were in the box, currently shouting at each other as they argued. She felt awful for leaving the two alone but the Doctor insisted he'd work it out with Minerva. She felt partly guilty for the revelation. She was the one that told Martha about it when she shouldn't have. It was the Doctor's job and certainly not hers.

Sylvia entered the kitchen with shopping bags and set them on the counter, "The streets are half-empty. People still aren't driving. There's kids on bikes all over the place, it's wonderful. Unpack that lot, I'm gonna see if Suzette's all right," she left the kitchen after that.

"I won't tell her any of your trips," Wilf said quietly, "Best not. Just keep it as our little secret, eh?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded.

"And you go with those two, that wonderful Doctor and Minerva. You go and see the stars. And then bring a bit of 'em back, for your old Gramps."

She nodded and stood up, kissing his head, "Love you."

~ 0 ~

Martha was awaiting on the street, several feet away from the TARDIS, feeling plain _awful_. She could hear the shouts coming from the box. This was truly her fault. She had been trusted with a great secret and she _blurted_ it out to her best friend. How could she? She'd just caused the biggest argument between her favorite people.

"Hey," Donna walked towards her, sighing when she saw the TARDIS doors still closed, "How is it?" she nodded to the box.

"Pretty bad, there's non-stop shouting..." Martha shook her head, "And it's all my fault."

"Don't say that."

"Donna, you trusted me with something important, something about my best friend, and look what I did? I just complicated the Doctor's job and hurt Minerva. They're arguing because _I_ didn't know how to keep my mouth shut!"

"You were only trying to remind the Doctor why he had to stay. It just slipped. It could've happened to anyone," Donna pointed out. Thinking on it, it probably could've happened to her as well.

What the Doctor had tried to do for the Sontarans was good and noble, no doubt, but he was forgetting the one person that was actually important to him. He was in such a rush that he didn't even stop to consider what exactly would happen with Minerva and her condition if he truly died along with the Sontarans. Who would have helped her on Earth?

"Not you, not the Doctor. _I_ messed up," Martha looked at the TARDIS, "And it brought great consequences."

~ 0 ~

"How could you? How could you keep something that big from me!?" Minerva shouted, her face stained with all the tears she'd cried so far. She stood in front of the Doctor, both beside the console, arguing and arguing...

"I didn't want to worry you!" the Doctor insisted, trying to reach for her but she kept walking around the console to keep him away from her.

"Oh well this turned out to be _much_ better!" she spun around to face his direction, "I'm certainly feeling all better now, how about you?"

"Minerva, you had too much on your plate, okay? You had your mum and Marisol to deal with. Then you had your dad and his illness. I wasn't gonna tell you, you had a crystal lodged inside your heart if there was nothing I could do with it in the mean time!"

"I had a right to know! This concerned _my_ heart, _my_ body, _my_ life. You had the obligation to _tell_ me!"

"And then what? You would've cried, you would've been terrified of what was going to happen. You were going to ask what I could do, what could be done," the Doctor swallowed hard, his shouts fading as he spoke softer, "And then I would have to look you in the eye and tell you I couldn't do anything to help you."

Minerva shook her head, "I still had the right to know. I've been feeling so many things lately and knowing this, the crystal, it would've helped me sleep better."

"No, it wouldn't have," the Doctor said, genuinely sure of his words, "I know you like the back of my hand. I don't want to sound rude-"

"Said by the man who lied," she spat.

The Doctor took a breath before he shouted again and started over, "I don't want to sound rude but you don't have the perfect emotional health at the moment," at that she looked away from him, no argument about that subject coming to mind when she knew it was true, "You've been dealing with a lot of stuff with your family and I was afraid that if I told you about the crystal...you'd finally break."

"No, I would've been able to handle it," she spoke normally though her voice broke.

"No, you really wouldn't have," the Doctor shook his head.

"You can't know what I can and can't handle. I had a right to know from the very start, _which_ , by the way, I'm curious to know _when_ exactly that was."

"It doesn't matter..."

"Yes it _does_. For once, it matters to me! Tell me right now!"

"...after our last Christmas," the Doctor answered quietly, hearing her gasp, "I ran some tests after we left your grandmother. The way you came back to life, it...it was impossible. The blue light? That and the crystal are connected, I don't know how, but it is. Together they brought you back to me," he stepped towards her but sighed when she moved back.

"You knew all this time...and you didn't tell me anything," she whispered, looking to the side, "From the very start of our relationship...you knew. All that time, all those dates, those special moments we spent together..." she looked at him with watery eyes again, "...the first time we said 'I love you' to each other...you were still lying," she burst into sobs as she came to the realization, "You were always lying to me!"

"No," he walked up to her and tried to hug her but she shook him off and moved as far away as she could from him.

"Yes, you were," she sniffled, "And if you were lying about something as important as my own health...you could've been lying about other things too."

"That is not...no...no, NO," the Doctor rose in volume as he realized she thought the moment he declared her love for her was also a lie, "I did _NOT_ lie about loving you, about anything of our relationship. I love you and I will be damned if you doubt that. Look, I was just trying to keep you away from all this pain. I was working to figure it out, I was waiting for Kaeya to arrive and help me. She's the only one that can remove it without harming you. We have to wait..."

"And _that_ was so hard to tell me?" she raised an eyebrow, "You couldn't tell me that instead of lying?"

"I didn't want to hurt you, why won't you understand that?"

"It's hard to believe that once you've lied," she crossed her arms, "Puts everything in doubt."

"Even love? It makes you doubt my love for you?" he gritted his teeth in frustration, "You're clever, you really don't see how much I love you? You're looking at this in the wrong way-"

"No, don't you make this _my_ problem," she pointed, " _You_ chose to lie to me, _you_ created this whole problem, _you_! You even went ahead and told Donna and Martha instead of _me_ , your _girlfriend,_ the one that's _actually affected_."

"Minerva, you're letting your anger blind you to the-"

But she wouldn't listen anymore. She shook her head and looked at the doors, shouting, "Martha! Donna!"

A moment later, Martha and Donna cautiously entered the TARDIS, "Hey..." Martha nervously greeted.

"How's it going in here?" Donna asked.

"When did you know?" Minerva demanded from them.

"Huh?" both women frowned with confusion.

"When did you know about this crystal?"

"Oh, um," Donna looked at the Doctor who nodded for her to say, "It was during the Orient Express."

"Oh, so you've been lying too," Minerva nodded and moved onto Martha, "And you?"

"Today..." Martha replied, "...Donna told me earlier."

"Okay, a little better than those two...we're you planning on saying something? Or were you gonna lie about it like the Doctor?"

"He wasn't lying," Martha quickly said, already half guessing the ideas Minerva had forged in her mind, "If I know him he was trying to protect you from additional pain that you didn't need. Are you really gonna be mad at that? Cause-"

But the doors of the TARDIS shut, the box shaking wildly all of a sudden and sending everyone to the floor.

"What's going on!?" Donna yelled as she fell back against the doors.

"What? What!?" the Doctor fell beside his jar with his hand inside.

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Minerva shouted, hanging onto the console, "You won't get yourself out of this with a smooth talk and a nice trip!"

"No, no, no! I didn't touch anything! We're in flight but it's not me!"

"Where are we going?" Donna called.

"I don't know, it's out of control!"

Doctor, just listen to me! You take me home, take me home right now!" Martha yelled. As much as she loved the travels and the adventures, she really preferred staying home. Plus, she'd rather leave Minerva and the Doctor to have some time alone and fix things.

"You can add me to the list!" Minerva added, leaving everyone with wide eyes and shocked faces, "I want to go home!" she angrily declared.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Yikes! That's quite a disagreement, huh? Wonder what'll happen next...

For reviews:

I think Minerva was more than upset she wasn't told about the crystal .-. I mean, I don't think she's actually 'angry, angry' like she's portraying and instead is more...hurt? That makes sense, right? Like, she's just hurt that she was basically the last to find out about something directly affecting her and her only? I've got some thing's in store for season 5 as well lol promise it won't be boring!

Girl power am I right? The clever girl, the best friend and the ginger sister! The Doctor's Daughter? Hm, honestly not my favorite episode, but now that I rewrote it's not looking too shabby lol hopefully you'll like it :)

As will I, we'll both go down with our ships ^.^

Omg I've never seen Charlie's Angel's but I think that would be fun to see xD. And actually, I think I'll be holding off on the ship name until a bit later where I'll be asking for one choice that'll help me decide how I'll come up with the ship name. There's a couple chapters later on that'll define the future for Minerva and the Doctor so I think it's best to wait until that :)

I have presented the rest of it lol I've updated!

So for the next chapter we get Jenny...in-between an argument? Uh oh .-.

Until next time! :)


	11. The Almost Daughter

Isadora was washing the dishes in the kitchen while humming a little tune to herself. Aaron and Cody walked in from the back garden, Aaron holding a camera.

"All done for today," Aaron came over and gave his mother a kiss on the head, "Do you wanna see?"

"You can show me all the pictures you want but to me it'll just be birds and the sky," Isadora chuckled.

"At least you wouldn't insult them," Cody took a seat on the kitchen table, "Or break my camera..."

Isadora smiled softly as she looked back. It had been weeks since her son and friend had arrived to her house and in it, she'd gotten to know Cody Ripoll better. Oh he was a nice, young man with a troubled past like his granddaughter. But unlike Minerva, Cody didn't seem so perturbed by it anymore. She hoped that it was due to Cody being older than her and that the older Minerva would get, the more healed she'd be.

"I would never insult your work, dear," Isadora said, "I think it's lovely."

The phone rang from the living room and so Isadora turned the water off and reached for the towel to dry her hand.

"I'll get it mom," Aaron offered and went into the living room. He picked up the phone and answered, "Hello?'

"Mrs. Lozano!?" Hayley, the Souza's main maid nearly yelled.

"No, this is Aaron, Hayley is that you?"

"Oh, Mr. Lozano, something's happened and Mrs. Souza is out of the city for the day!"

"Calm down and just say it," Aaron instructed, "What happened?"

~ 0 ~

Isadora had resumed washing the dishes since her son was taking care of the phone call. When she heard his footsteps returning she expected him to say who had called, perhaps Minerva. But for some reason, there was an eerie silence.

"Aaron, who was it?" she glanced over shoulder.

Silence.

She turned off the sink once more and reached for the towel as she turned around to her son, "What's wrong?"

Aaron was standing by the threshold of the kitchen, his gaze blankly ahead, like in shock.

"Aaron?"

"It's um...um..." Aaron finally looked at his mother, "...we need to call Sophia and Minerva."

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS was shaking as violent as ever, reminding Minerva of the way it had done something similar to this when they'd met Zohar and Valyn. Sparks flew around the console while the Doctor tried regaining control of the box, the women screamed as they held onto whatever they could.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled.

"Controls aren't working!" the Doctor tried a different control on the console only for more sparks to fly. He fell to the floor and saw the jar containing his hand bubbling wildly, "I don't know where we're going but my old hand's very excited about it!"

"I thought that was just some freaky alien thing! You telling me it's _yours_?" Donna looked on in horror, glancing at Minerva for confirmation.

"It got cut off and he grew a new one," she muttered, talking with a cold tint in her tone..

"You are completely... impossible!" Donna told the Doctor.

"Not impossible, just... a bit unlikely!" was all he had to say for that.

The TARDIS did one last rebellious explosion before coming to a complete halt. Everyone rumbled into a new position, Minerva and Donna on the floor, Martha over a rail and the Doctor on the chair by the console. The Doctor looked at the women, wanting desperately to go and check if Minerva was alright. But, by her deep glare, he knew that would only push her farther away from him. So, he went for the doors. They seemed to be in some underground tunnel that was littered with junk and old equipment. Martha and Donna stepped out, both curiously looking around.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" the Doctor asked, utterly confused of the urgency the TARDIS had to bring them there.

Minerva stepped out of the TARDIS in time to see the Doctor lick his hands and look into the distance. She wanted to jokingly scold him like she usually did, telling him she wouldn't be kissing him later on but then she remembered she was angry and looked away.

"It's that feeling you get..." Martha trailed off as she looked around.

"Like you swallowed a hamster?" Donna offered, feeling the same way.

There came a loud noise that made everyone turn to the same direction to see a group of soldiers coming for them.

"Don't move, stay where you are! Drop your weapons," the leader of the soldiers, Cline, ordered as the rest pointed their guns to the group.

"We're not armed! Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe," the Doctor held up his arms, discreetly trying to make his way to Minerva's side.

After everything, the she didn't need any of this. Actually, what she needed was to be sat down and told just how much he loved her and the purposes behind his secrecy. She couldn't be running around thinking he had just lied to her for no good reason.

"Look at their hands. They're clean," a soldier pointed to the group, completely awed.

"Alright, process them! Him first," Cline nodded over to the Doctor.

Two soldiers accompanied him towards the Doctor. They grabbed the alien and dragged him towards a rather odd machine not too far away from them.

"Oi, oi! What's wrong with clean hands?!" the Doctor cried as he tried pulling out of the men's grasp.

"Leave him alone!" Minerva shouted, not even thinking as she ran for them. No matter how mad she was she wasn't about to let them hurt the Martian. Donna and Martha yanked her back as the Doctor's hand was forced into the machine.

The alien yelped as the machine whizzed on, feeling like parts of skin were being plucked out, "Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressure. AAGGGH!"

"What're you doing to him?" Minerva demanded, still trying to get out of Donna's and Martha's grasp, as if she would go and hurt the other men.

"Everyone gets processed," Cline said plainly, unperturbed by the Doctor's uncomfortable yelps of pain.

"It's taken a tissue sample. Ow ow ow ow ow ow! And extrapolated it! Some kind of accelerator?" the machine finally let go of the Doctor and he immediately moved back, examining his hand that now bore a strange 'Y' shaped graze.

"Are you alright?" Martha called.

He looked back, a hint of a smile on his face when he saw Minerva staring at his hand with concern. But his attention was brought back to a bigger machine beside the processor that was now activating, "What on earth? That's just..."

Donna, Minerva and Martha quietly moved up to the Doctor, all staring as the machine slid open its door. With smoke emerging from the inside, a young blonde woman with blue eyes dressed in a usual camouflage attire stepped out. The blonde looked around with curiosity, bearing the same face the group had to stare at her.

"Arm yourself!" Cline exclaimed, handing her a gun which she naturally held.

"Where did she come from?" Minerva tilted her head.

"From me," the Doctor breathed, unaware of Minerva's head snapping to him.

"From you?! How? Who is she?" Donna questioned.

"Well... she's... well... she's my daughter!"

The blonde woman looked at the group with a clean smile, "Hello dad!"

"Oh dear Lord," Minerva rubbed her head, "Just what we needed."

The Doctor looked at her, remembering how much she already had to deal with. He cautiously reached out for her hand but she stepped away, "Don't," she warned, moving farther away from the group, "This doesn't change anything for _any_ of you. You all hid it from me," she turned around and walked.

"She'll come around," Martha comforted the Doctor, "Remember how she is? She'll just want to be alone for a little while."

"You primed to take orders, ready to fight?" Cline asked the blonde woman.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir. Generation 5000 soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready," she grinned.

"Right, now about _her_..." Donna eyed the blonde up and down, "Did you say, daughter?"

"Yeah, technically," the Doctor replied, not bothering to look at the blonde in the machine. His gaze was much more focused on a brunette who seemed to be 'looking' around the area.

"Technically how?"

"Progenation. Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow. Very quickly, apparently."

"Something's coming!" the blonde shouted as a group of other aliens, Hath, ran down the tunnel shooting.

"It's the Hath!" Cline yelled, all the human soldiers shooting right back.

"Minerva, come back!" the Doctor shouted when he realized the woman was far too close to these 'Hath'.

She turned around and headed back for the human side, "Ow!" she hissed as her arm was grazed with a shot, dropping to her knees as she rubbed her arm.

"Get down!" the blonde ordered, also taking up in the shooting.

"We have to blow the tunnel! Get the detonator!" Cline ordered.

"I'm not detonating anything!" the Doctor snapped, currently trying to reach for Minerva who was still making her way back, more like crawling on the ground to avoid more shooting.

One of the Hath grabbed Martha and pulled her away while the blonde was busy kicking another to reach the detonator instead.

"Blow that thing, blow the thing!" Cline called as soon as she had it in her hands.

"Martha!" the Doctor saw her being hauled away, "No! Don't!" he called to his 'daughter' but the woman had already pressed the buttons.

"Take cover!" Cline yelled as the others ran around before the tunnel exploded.

Minerva managed to move off to the side, the Doctor having no other choice but to take cover for himself as well. The tunnel exploded, blasting other parts all around their side, even dropping parts of the ceiling to create a barrier blocking them off from where Martha had been taken away to.

"You've sealed off the tunnel. Why did you do that?!" Donna stood up from her cover, taking bits of rocks off her ginger hair, seeing the other side now completely blocked.

"They were trying to kill us!" the blonde woman jumped to her feet.

"But they've got our friend," Donna pointed to the barred division.

"Minerva!" the Doctor ran over to the brunette who laid on the floor, unconscious.

At the sight, Donna rushed over and knelt down beside the Doctor, "Is she alright?"

The Doctor checked for a pulse which was thankfully just fine and sighed in relief, "Yeah," he took a look at her arm, only a surface scratch that would easily be taken care of, "She'll be just fine..." and then he got to thinking of their current and situation, "...in what fits, anyways."

"Well, they took Martha," Donna nodded to the barrier, "She's stuck on the other side thanks to _her,_ " she cast a look to the blonde.

"It's called collateral damage. At least you've still got the woman and him, he lost both his men, I'd say you came out ahead," the blonde crossed her arms.

"Her name is Minerva," Donna snapped, "She might as well be your mother so you need to show some respect. And about Martha, the girl _you_ left stuck on another side with aliens, she was _not_ collateral damage, not for anyone! Have you got that, GI Jane?!"

"We're gonna find her," the Doctor said to Donna.

But Cline stepped up, pointing at them with his gun, "You're going nowhere. You don't make sense, you three. No guns, no marks, no fight in you… I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move," he took more steps towards them.

The Doctor stepped up and moved Donna behind him, "You touch either of my friends and you won't live to see another day. Now BACK OFF!" he shouted, not even waiting for a reaction as he turned around and picked up Minerva into his arms, "I'll get you out of here," he whispered to the unconscious woman, "...and if you really want...I'll event take you home," he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

~ 0 ~

Cline was leading Donna, Jenny, the Doctor and Minerva through the tunnels, Minerva still unconscious and currently being carried by the Doctor.

"I'm Donna, what's your name?" Donna neared the blonde woman.

"Don't know, it's not been assigned," she shrugged.

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?"

"How to fight."

"Nothing else?"

"The machine must embed military history and tactics but no name. She's a generated anomaly," the Doctor explained.

"Generated anomaly? Jenny-rated. Well what about that? Jenny!" Donna smiled, looking at the blonde for an agreement.

She considered it a moment and nodded, "Jenny. Yeah, I like that, Jenny. "

"What do you think, 'Dad'?" Donna nudged the Doctor, a playful smirk.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he could honestly care less what the woman was called. He'd much rather put Minerva down somewhere safe and care for her until she woke up. And then maybe try to once again explain himself in hopes of getting her to reconsider leaving the TARDIS.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?" Donna teased.

"Donna, I've got a pending argument with my girlfriend when she wakes up, and I'm gonna have a heck of a time trying to talk to her. I have a little too much on my plate," he snapped and sighed, not meaning to take out his irritation with her, "Besides, they stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it, it's not what I call natural parentage."

"Rubbish! My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster, don't bother her."

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident."

"Er, Child Support Agency can."

"Look, just because I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?" he snapped once more.

"I'm not a monkey! Or a child," Jenny shot back.

The Doctor simply rolled his eyes and looked down at Minerva, hoping she'd wake up soon. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to his side to Donna who was smiling warmly, "She'll come around. Like Martha said, she just needs to cool down. You'll see."

"I really hope so," he sighed, "Because she's the last piece of happiness I have and I can't lose her."

"You won't."

They reached a human encampment which was a huge underground room, "So where are we?" he asked, looking around, "What planet is this?"

"Messaline. Well, what's left of it," Cline replied.

 _"...663 – 75 deceased. Generation 6671 – Extinct. Generation 6672 – 46 deceased. Generation 6680 – 14 deceased. Generation ..."_

"But, this is a theater!" Donna exclaimed.

"Maybe they're doing Miss Saigon..." the Doctor mumbled.

"It's like a town, or a city, underground. But why?"

Cline finished speaking to an older soldier who was now approaching the trio, "General Cobb, I presume?" the Doctor asked.

"Found in the Western tunnels, I'm told, with no marks," Cobb said, looking indifferent to the greet, "There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern Zone, three generations back, before we lost contact, is that where you came from?"

"Eastern Zone, that's us, yeah. Yeah. I'm The Doctor, that's Donna, and this," he nodded down to the unconscious brunette he held, "Is Minerva; don't touch her."

"And I'm Jenny," Jenny introduced herself.

"Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking. We're committed to the fight, to the very end."

"Well, that's all right, I can't stay anyway. I've gotta go and find my friend," the Doctor said.

"That's not possible, all movement is regulated. We're at war."

"Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, Eastern Zone and all that, so, who exactly are the Hath?"

"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning, a colony where human and Hath could work and live together."

"So what happened?" the Doctor asked.

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival."

There's nothing but earth outside, why's that? Why build everything underground?" Donna asked, still looking up at the high windows.

"The surface is too dangerous."

"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" she pointed at a number stamped on the wall.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meanings... lost in time."

"How long's this war gone on for?" the Doctor questioned.

" Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna raised an eyebrow, "That's a waste of time!"

"Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance, it's all we know. How to fight. And how to die," Jenny spoke up, only earning a small sharp look from the Doctor.

That could _not_ be his daughter.

Cobb moved over to show them a holographic map of the area.

"Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well it'll help us find Martha."

"We've more important things to do. The Progenation Machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you three. "

"You touch her you die," the Doctor stepped back with his Clever Girl in arms.

"We're not having sons and daughters by some great big flippin' machine!" Donna added, looking at Jenny suddenly, "Sorry, no offence but you're not... well I mean you're not real."

"You're no better than him! I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thoughts, how am I not real? What makes you better than me?" Jenny raised an eyebrow, she was most certainly real!

"Well said, soldier. We need more like you if ever we're to find the Source," Cobb nodded with pride.

"Ooh, the Source, what's that then, what's a Source? I like a Source, what is it?" the Doctor asked.

"The Breath of Life."

"And that would be...?"

"In the beginning the great one breathed life into the universe. And then she looked at what she'd done, and she sighed."

"She? I like that," Jenny smiled.

"Right, so it's a creation myth," the Doctor said.

"It's not myth. It's real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it's here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet."

" Ah! I thought so!" the Doctor looked around for a safe place for Minerva, a little concerned she still hadn't woken up. But, he supposed after everything her mind needed a simple break from external forces. He found a small table that seemed strong enough and walked over, carefully placing Minerva down. He looked up for any immediate danger around her then turned around, "Anyone lays a _finger_ on this woman for your stupid progneation machine will answer to _me_ , twice," he looked around with a dark look that really left everyone taking steps away from the table.

"What's so special about her?" Jenny asked Donna, thinking it was a tad ridiculous being so protective of a woman who was taken down by a simple explosion.

"Like I said, she might as well be your mother," Donna patted her arm.

"Now, there's a suppressed layer of information in this map, if I can just…" the Doctor took out the screwdriver and used it on the map to make more tunnels appear on it.

"What is it, what's it mean?" Donna asked.

"See? A whole complex of tunnels, hidden from sight."

"That must be the lost temple. The source will be inside. You've shown us the way! And look, we're closer than the Hath! It's ours!" Cobb exclaimed and looked over to a soldier nearby, "Tell them to prepare to move out. We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last."

"Um, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor offered.

"Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet!"

"Hang on, hang on, a second ago it was peace in our time, now you're talking about _genocide_!?"

"For us, that means the same thing," Cobb shrugged.

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there and the caption will read 'Over my dead body'!"

"And you're the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms!"

Cline pointed his gun at the Doctor and Donna.

"Oi, oi oi! All right! Cool the beans Rambo!" Donna raised her hands in surrender.

"Take them, I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that your woman dies first," Cobb warned.

"No, we're, we're not a couple," the Doctor shook his head and ran for Minerva, discarding the guns following him, "Minerva, wake up," he gently patted her cheek. The woman merely scrunched her face, seeming as if she was dreaming judging by the incoherent words she was mumbling.

"Come on, this way!" Cline ordered, the gun still pointed at the Doctor.

The Doctor picked Minerva into his arms, turning around, "I'm going to stop you, Cobb, you need to know that."

"I have an army and the breath of god on my side, Doctor, what'll you have?"

"My head thank you very much," the Doctor declared.

"Lock them up, and guard them," Cobb instructed.

"What about the new soldier?" Cline nodded to Jenny.

Jenny stepped forwards but Cobb pushed her to Donna's arms, ""Oi," she frowned.

"Can't trust her, she's from pacifist stock. Take them all!" Cobb ordered.

~ 0 ~

The trio, along with Jenny, were ushered into a jail cell. Donna looked up to see numbers stamped at the top of the cell's bars, "More numbers. They've gotta mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the breath of life story," the Doctor mumbled.

"You mean that's not true?" Jenny turned to him, watching him sit down with Minerva in his arms, "Why won't she wake up?" she forgot about the myth for a second as she found herself beginning to worry as well for the woman she hadn't even met yet.

"Minerva," the Doctor whispered to her, gently shaking her, "Please wake up," Minerva's face scrunched her, fussing for a bit, "I know you don't want to talk to me but I'd really rather you wake up and be angry than unconscious where I don't know what's happening to you."

"Louvier," she gasped suddenly, her eyes snapping open, the Doctor stunned by the word she'd said and the bright blue shade her eyes were for a split second, "Oh my god..." she breathed heavily, looking around as she gathered her senses.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor quickly asked.

Minerva looked at him, realizing she was in his arms, "I'm mad at you," she spat, as if barely remembering, "Let go of me," she pushed herself away from him and scooted to the other side of the bench.

"Please just forget bout it for a second and tell me what you were dreaming of," he moved to scoot closer to her.

She looked from one thing to another as she thought, "I...don't know," she whispered, genuinely thinking of that weird dream she had.

It had been weird, everything she dreamed of was just slipping away as the seconds ticked by. It was really cold wherever she was, and it was snowing. There were voices, all overlapping but she thought it all belonged to the same person. All she remembered was one word. 'Louvier'. She thought it sounded familiar but she couldn't remember where she'd heard it before, or seen it anyways.

"Minerva?" the Doctor called again.

Her eyes eyes snapped to him, she brought her legs up to her chest, "I don't remember," she repeated.

"Minerva, are you alright?" Donna was also now concerned for her friend, stepping towards her.

"Don't come near me either!" she snapped.

Donna looked at the Doctor, both helpless for their friend. Jenny looked between the trio, a bit confused, "So...this myth..." she hoped things could get back on track, "It's not a myth, is it?"

Donna sighed, Minerva just wasn't going to speak to either of them for the moment so it was best to move on, "No, it's a myth. Isn't it, Doctor?"

" Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple, something that's become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon..." he said absently, his gaze locked on Minerva. His hearts were constricting as the woman looked more and more confused. He himself was confused because there was no way she could've known about the word. It was barely anywhere in the world by now.

"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?" Donna asked.

"Yes."

"Not good, is it?"

The Doctor sighed, finally looking over at the two standing women, "That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath."

"Look at you, you keep insisting you're not a soldier. But look at you! Drawing up strategies like a proper general," Jenny crossed her arms, "Though you would be a better one if you didn't get so distracted easily," she gazed at Minerva for a second.

"No no, I'm trying to stop the fighting," the Doctor clarified, frowning.

"Isn't every soldier?"

"Well. I suppose. But that's… that's… technically... I haven't got time for this! Donna, give me your phone! Time for an upgrade!" he stood up as Donna handed him her phone.

"And now you've got a weapon!" Jenny nearly laughed at the irony.

"It's not a weapon."

"But you're using it to fight back! I'm gonna learn so much from you, you are such a soldier!"

"Donna, will you tell her?" the Doctor turned away.

"Mm, I get the feeling this is more of Minerva's job," Donna said, Minerva's eyes looking up at them.

Jenny turned to the brunette woman, " _Do_ you talk?" she tilted her head.

"Leave me alone, I'm mad at you too," Minerva looked to the side.

Jenny frowned, a bit offended at that, "What did I do?"

"You come from _him_ ," Minerva nodded to the Doctor who was speaking to Martha over the phone, "Therefore you're a part of him and I'm mad at him."

"Oh..." Jenny crossed her arms, "...as long as it logical," she made a face.

Minerva had to cover a small smile from the girl due to her sass. Donna, however, caught it and pushed Jenny forwards. Jenny looked back at her with confusion but Donna gestured for her to keep talking. If she could get Minerva to smile then it would put her in a better mood and might make her want to talk to the Doctor again.

Jenny sighed, rolling her eyes, she had no idea why she was doing this, "Well, hello by the way, my name's Jenny," she gave a wave, "Didn't really have a name before you went down," she took cautious steps towards Minerva, "But your friend Donna gave it to me and I quite like it. Do you?" Minerva remained silent, and so Jenny continued, "So, this whole 'mad' thing, why am I included again? Cause I don't think that just because my dad made you mad you should be mad at _me_. And plus, Donna says you might as well be like my mother so it doesn't really-"

"I'm not your mother," Minerva cut her off, coldly speaking, "Don't call me that."

"Oh...sorry," Jenny looked back to Donna, this time _hurt_ than offended.

Minerva sighed as she realized she was hurting an actual innocent person and sat properly, "Jenny, I don't mean to be rude to you but your father has lied to me, right in my face. If you understand, you'll see I'm a little upset. Now, I know what Donna said but I don't want to be your mother, I don't want to be a mother in general. I wouldn't be a good one..." she looked away.

As much as she loved children, due to her childhood she couldn't really fathom the idea of having a child of her own. Sophia hadn't taught her anything of what a mother should be. So, what would she do with her own child? She wouldn't know a thing! And she wasn't going to put a child through the same pain she went through. The best way to avoid the repetition of the story was just not to have children. That was one thing she didn't really mind of by being with the Doctor, actually. While he was concerned with the fact he was stealing her chance of being a mother, Minerva felt like it was God's way of telling her she wasn't meant to be a mother because she didn't know the first thing about motherhood.

Before anyone could say more, they heard Cobb's voice carrying over to the cell, "The doors that have been closed will be open to us now. The door to the Temple, to the Source, and to victory!" and then they heard the cheers of the soldiers, "Come the dawn cycle we march."

"They're getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard," the Doctor said.

"I can deal with him," Jenny turned to him.

"No no no no. You're not going anywhere," he shook his head at her.

"What?" she frowned.

"You belong here, with them."

"She belongs with us," Donna cut in, "With you. She's your daughter!"

"She's a soldier. She came out of that machine!"

"Oh yes, I know that bit! Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on!"

"What're you doing?" Jenny asked, confused as she placed the stethoscope over her heart.

"It's all right. Just hold still," Donna listened to a heartbeat come from Jenny's right side then promptly moved it to her left side, hearing a second heartbeat. Donna looked at the Doctor but suddenly glanced at Minerva instead, seeing the brunette intently staring at Jenny, "You wanna hear?" she held the stethoscope to Minerva.

Minerva took a quick glance at the Doctor and nodded, "Sure..." she stood up and walked to Donna, taking the stethoscope from Donna and putting it on, "...for the record, I have nothing against you," she said to Jenny before placing the end of the stethoscope on her chest, "I'm upset with your father."

As Minerva listened to Jenny's hearts, the blonde glanced at the Doctor with a questioning look, feeling a bit sad when he looked away from her. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know he cared for the brunette more than anyone in the room. She wondered what exactly had happened between them.

"Dual heartbeats," Minerva said and stepped back, removing the stethoscope from herself and turning to the Doctor, "You already made a mistake with me, don't make another one with your own daughter," she held the stethoscope to him.

The Doctor reached for stethoscope, her cold words feeling like punctures in his hearts. She'd never spoken like that to him, even when she threatened to leave after meeting Donna for the first time. Of course the last time something like this happened he wasn't in love with her so naturally the sting was stronger now. And for that same reason he would not allow it to end just like this, not without a fight.

"Well, listen," Minerva motioned, irritated he was just staring at her.

She knew she was prone to just forget about her anger and rush into his arms due to those eyes of his. She couldn't allow that, she was angry, she was hurt and this time no amount of smooth talk would change that.

With a sigh, the Doctor moved in front of Jenny and listened to her heart beat, "Two hearts," he whispered, stepping back.

"Okay, what's going on? Why does everyone need to listen to my hearts?" Jenny frowned, her turn to step away from the three.

"You have _two_ hearts," Minerva quietly informed.

"Yeah, so?"

"There's only one other person in this cell that has two hearts."

"Does that mean she's a...? What do you call a female Time Lord?" Donna turned to the pair.

"Time Lady," Minerva mumbled.

She looked at Jenny and couldn't help feel that small spark of jealousy because the blonde was something she has often found herself wishing she was. Though now with the current situation, it may not be such a wish anymore...

"What's a Time Lord?" Jenny asked.

"It's who I am. It's where I'm from," the Doctor answered.

"And I'm from you."

"You're an echo, that's all," he corrected, making sure she understood that, "A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge. A code. A shared history. A shared suffering...only it's gone now. All of it. Gone forever."

"What happened?"

"There was a war."

"Like this one?"

The Doctor laughed at such a comparison, "Bigger. Much bigger."

"And you fought? And killed?"

"...yes," he answered, looking away in shame.

Minerva watched him sadly, the need to comfort him was getting stronger and stronger. She was angry! Why is she feeling like this!? She's angry, she's supposed to want nothing to do with him and yet here she was, practically forcing herself to stay still. What on earth was going on?

"Then how are we different?" Jenny asked curiously, leaving the Doctor silent.

~ 0 ~

In the end, while trying to figure a way out of the cell, Jenny had come up with a plan that could work, even getting pointers from some of them. The Doctor wasn't too pleased with what she had in mind to do but allowed her to go ahead and do it. She had walked to the cell door where Cline was guarding on the other side, "Hey," she smiled.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you, I'm on duty," Cline remained looking away.

"I know. Guarding me," Jenny tried that sweet smile Minerva had talked about. Well, more like mumbled really. She was still pretty peeved at the Doctor but she still admitted a sweet smile would get a man to do anything, " So does that mean I'm dangerous? Or that I need protecting?"

"Protecting from what?" Cline turned around, suspiciously looking around for any kind of trap, "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, my mum told me to," and Jenny pulled him closer for a kiss and secretly grabbed his gun which she used to point it at him, "Keep quiet and open the door."

The Doctor, Minerva, and Donna walked out from their waiting place. Minerva had to smile a tad proudly at the sight, "Told you it'd work."

"Have you tried it before with my dad?" Jenny glanced at her, finding herself smirking when the pair looked away from each other with blushes.

"Have I mentioned my like for you?" Donna laughed, the blonde beaming with excitement.

She knew she was a soldier, or at least supposed to be but...this trio...they seemed to be a nice family...well, as soon as the brunette got happier with the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The group walked downstairs and stopped at the sight of another guard.

"That's the way out," the Doctor sighed, but quickly reacted to Jenny cocking her gun at the guard, "Don't you dare!"

Donna cut in between the two, facing the guard, "Let me distract this one. I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years," Minerva snickered as the ginger flipped her hair and headed for the guard.

"Let's... save your wiles for later," the Doctor pulled her back, not too keen to see that plan unfold.

Next thing he needed was for Minerva to offer herself up and that was something he would outright _refuse_ to allow. The only one that would be kissing her sweet lips was going to be _him_...as soon as she forgave him.

He used a wind up mouse instead to distract the guard...then Jenny stepped behind the guard and knocked him out.

"I was gonna distract him, not clobber him!" he scolded.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Jenny frowned, what was he so upset about?

"They must all have a copy of that new map. Just stay there, don't hurt anyone," he walked away.

"What's wrong?" Jenny sighed.

"In all fairness, you probably could've just done something different," Minerva stepped up to the girl.

"Like what?"

"Pressure points, knocks them out but doen't essentially hurt them."

"Doesn't that make you a soldier too?" Jenny frowned at the double standard she was seeing, "Is that why you're arguing with my dad?"

"First of all, I'm not a soldier because I only use my self defense moves for, well, self defense. And second of all, you don't have to know the arguments we're having. It doesn't matter," she moved to follow the Doctor.

Jenny turned around after the brunette, Donna stepping beside her, "Something tells me it _does_ matter," Jenny concluded.

Donna looked at her and nodded, "The Doctor always says so too. You're so his daughter."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was looking at the map they'd gotten from the guard, "Wait! This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel," he sonicked the walls beside the locked door.

Donna, meanwhile, looked at another number posted at the top of the walls, "It's another one of those numbers. They're everywhere."

"The original builders must've left them. Some old cataloging system," the Doctor informed, keeping his back to her.

"You got a pen? Bit of paper? Cause, d'you see, the numbers are counting down," the Doctor handed her a pen and paper which she used to make her notes, "This one ends in 1-4, the prison cell said 1-6. What do you think Minerva?"

But Minerva was currently distracted as she rubbed her chest in circular motions, Jenny looking at her with a bit of concern, "Not now, Donna, sorry," Minerva turned away and moved off to the side, not noticing the small look the Doctor was giving her.

"Who are you people?" Jenny just had to ask.

Her "father" seemed to be a soldier though he kept saying the contrary, the ginger seemed like the attitude bringer yet quite observer, and the brunette seemed a bit sneaky with her sweet smile talks and self-defense moves.

"I told you. I'm the Doctor," the alien answered first.

"The Doctor? That's it?"

"That's all he ever says," Donna scribbled some more.

"So, you don't have a name either? Are you an anomaly too?"

"No."

"Oh, come off it! You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met!" Donna laughed, "Possibly the only one who could stand so much anomaly is Minerva!"

"Oi!" Minerva returned, rather irritated for some reason, "First of all, that doesn't even make sense!" she had one hand on her hip while the other continued to rub over her heart.

The Doctor took off the cover of the control panel, "Here it is!"

"And Time Lords, what are they for exactly?" Jenny asked, looking around for anyone ho could answer.

"'For'? They're not... They're not 'for' anything," the Doctor replied as he work.

"So what do you do?"

"I travel. Through time and space..." the Doctor looked back at Minerva, a sad look in his eyes, "... _we_ travel...together."

Minerva tried her best not to be drawn-in by that look of his with puppy dog eyes, "Sure," she mumbled.

"Together they save planets, rescue civilizations, defeat terrible creatures. And run a lot," Donna added in hopes of reminding Minerva all they had done together, "Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved."

"That was all the Doctor," Minerva said quietly, the door sliding open for them.

"I didn't do it alone," the Doctor counted, eyeing her hand over her chest that didn't seem to stop rubbing. Usually, the crystal would make its effects for a moment and then leave her. It never bothered her that much.

"Squad 5, with me!" they heard Cobb from a distance.

"Now, what were you saying about running?" he tried to joke and reached for Minerva's hand, but she stepped away, shaking her head.

Instead, she rushed off on her own ahead of them. They followed but stopped at red beams crossing a tunnel that blocked their way.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna sighed at the troubled obstacle for them. The Doctor threw the mouse into the lights where it burst into sparkles at its contact, "No, I didn't think so."

"It's an arming device," Minerva looked at the controls, the Doctor immediately setting to work on them.

"There's more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down, the closer we get..." Donna continued with new numbers, not that anyone had paid attention.

"Here we go!"

"You better be quick!" Minerva warned. The Doctor, utterly surprised she'd directed an actual sentence that wasn't cold, looked up at her in plain stupor, "What?" she frowned.

He opened his mouth to comment when the soldier's voices grew nearer and Jenny sprung into action, "The general!" she turned to run back with her gun.

The Doctor pulled her back, "Where are you going?"

"No, we don't need any more dead," Minerva snapped, "You're gonna drop that gun and follow us that way," she pointed in the opposite direction.

"But it's them or us," Jenny shrugged, irritated the pair couldn't see that.

"It doesn't mean you have to kill them! There's always another way!" Minerva said, "Now c'mon, we have to go."

Donna smirked at the pair and their parenting aura they were emitting at the moment. Minerva could claim she was angry and didn't want anything to do with Jenny because of her origins but she was quite at home acting like a mother. The Doctor could claim Jenny wasn't her daughter but he was also acting like a good father. Both were such liars it was actually funny.

"I'm trying to save your life!" Jenny shouted at both.

"Listen to me, the killing, after a while it infects you. And once it does you're never rid of it," the Doctor said quietly, not helping the small look he gave Minerva. As much as she knew about his past he didn't like reminding her he really wasn't a good man, and much more a man who didn't deserve her.

"Look, Jenny, I've never had to kill anyone and I couldn't imagine doing it," Minerva sighed, "You're innocent, keep it that way. There's no reason to kill when you can just...use something like self-defense classes to help stun the enemy until they can be locked up in jail."

"We don't have a choice," Jenny declared.

"We always have a choice," Minerva whispered.

"I'm sorry," and Jenny ran off to go and fight.

"Jenny!" the Doctor called after her, but the girl kept going. He sighed and got back to work. Upon hearing the shoots, Donna and Minerva turned around, both concerned, "I told you. Nothing but a soldier," he mumbled.

"She needs your guidance!" Minerva turned to him, moving closer to him, "And you denying her won't do anything!"

"And what about your denial, hm?" he snapped, startling her, "You deny my good intentions to keep you healthy-"

"You lied-"

"Oh yes, excuse me for only trying to make my girlfriend worry about one less thing in her life!"

"Don't use sarcasm on me, Martian!"

"Oh for goodness sake just kiss and make up already!" Donna shook her head, "Jenny! Come on!"

"Why are you so angry with me?" the Doctor asked, not shouting not angry just...tired.

He'd never argued like this with her, he'd never yelled at her nor she to him. He didn't like it and he wanted it to stop at all costs.

"Because you always say you would never lie to me and yet you've been doing it from the moment we became a couple," she crossed her arms, "You've been lying throughout our entire relationship."

"For a good reason," he reminded just as he turned off the red beams, the shooting ceasing in the background.

She shook her head and turned away, "We need to go! Jenny! Leave it! Let's go!" she called for the missing blonde as the Doctor forcefully grabbed her hand and ran down the corridor, Donna rushing behind them.

~ 0 ~

"You're a child of the machine. You're on my side," Cobb tried persuading Jenny, the woman still holding her gun at them, "Join us! Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, girl, don't deny it."

She took a perfect aim above his head at a pipeline. She laughed as the steam emerging blocked the view of the soldiers and ran for the trio.

"Jenny! Come on! That's it!" the Doctor called for her.

"Hurry up!" Minerva urged as well, though now standing away from the Doctor. As soon as they'd crossed she'd pull her hand from his and shouted some more before going beside Donna.

Just as Jenny reached the corridor the red beams reappeared again.

"No, no, no, no! The circuit's looped back!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Can't you zap it back again?" Donna asked.

"The controls are back there!" he nodded to Jenny's side.

"They're coming!" Jenny looked back to see the soldiers nearing.

"Wait! J-Just...! There isn't...! Jenny, I can't!"

"I'll have to manage on my own. Watch and learn, Father!" Jenny smirked and proceeded to do a series of somersaults across the beamed corridor.

"No way! But that was impossible!" Donna gaped as the blonde reached them with a proud smile.

"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely!" the Doctor took his daughter in a hug, one that even made Minerva smile a little, "Brilliant! You were brilliant! Brilliant!"

"I didn't kill him. General Cobb, I could have kill him, but I didn't," Jenny said happily, wiggling out of the Doctor's hug to rush to Minerva and nearly tackle her with a hug.

"Oh!" Minerva blinked, suddenly finding herself in a tight hug, "Um...okay?" she looked at Donna and the Doctor, finding the Martian smiling softly at them.

"You were right. I had a choice," Jenny said to her, pulling away, "You were right, ha! Is that like a mum thing? Being right?"

"First of all, I'm not your mom," Minerva correct, though now she spoke in a regular tone than her cold one when referring to her motherhood status, "But I'm always right anyways," Jenny chuckled, absolutely beaming, "And by the way, think you can teach me that? Cause I've learned all types of defense moves but none like that!"

Jenny nodded, "Yes! I'd love to!"

"At arms!" Cobb's voice made them turn to see him and the other soldiers across the corridor.

"I warned you, Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I'm gonna make sure you never use it," the Doctor said, discreetly pulling Minerva and Jenny behind him.

"One of us is gonna die today and it won't be me."

Minerva poked her head around the Doctor, "Sure as hell not gonna be us either!"

"Minerva!" the Doctor shouted, the woman just shrugging and running off. He shook his head yet still watched her go along with a fond smile. That was a comment only she would make, he missed that terribly.

"Careful not to drool, dad," Jenny chuckled.

"Oh shut up," he muttered and they ran as Cobb opened fire on them.

~ 0 ~

"So...why exactly are you mad with each other?" Jenny asked the Doctor and Minerva as they walked down a new corridor.

"Haven't you asked this already?" the Doctor playfully rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to increase Minerva's anger even more.

"Yes but I haven't received a proper answer," she crossed her arms, "And I'm very curious so it'll eventually get the best of me and...why have we stopped walking?" she frowned in confusion when the Doctor and Minerva came to an abrupt halt.

"It's just..." Minerva looked at her for a second, "...that's what I say..." she shared a brief look with the Doctor afterwards.

"Oh, well...it's true," Jenny shrugged, wondering if that could help ease whatever their argument was about. Perhaps by reminding them of their relationship quirks they could overcome whatever was wrong and just be together again.

"I'm sorry, Jenny, but it's just not that easy," Minerva looked at the Doctor again, "You absolutely trust a man with all your life, you let him sneak into your heart and fall in love with him...only to learn that he lied from the very start," her eyes watered up, "It's a bit difficult to overcome that."

"I didn't want to lie," the Doctor insisted, "I did it because your health was already declining. I didn't want to terrify you more than you already were. Forgive me, I may not have done it in the correct manner but my intentions were always to make sure you were alright..." he reached for her hand, faintly smiling when she didn't pull it away, "...Remember? I intend to make you happy, always."

Minerva looked to the side for a moment, very much conscious she had intertwined her fingers along his...but she didn't want to pull away. She actually wanted to hug him, missing his arms around hers even if it had only been a couple hours since their argument. She was weak when it came to arguments with her Martian.

"Sooo...does that mean everyone's okay now?" Jenny swayed over to them with a big smile.

The Doctor stared at Minerva with a hopeful look, "Forgive me?" he lifted her hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss.

"I don't know..." Minerva looked around as a blush crept onto her face.

"Perhaps we could even travel together?" Jenny asked, stepping past the boundary she knew but...the trio looked like they were used to all the running and exploring and she wanted that, she really did.

"You'd like to come with us?" Donna stepped beside her, she was literally just about to suggest the same thing.

"Well...I mean, yeah?" Jenny was now blushing of embarrassment, she probably had stepped past the boundary, "It just...it seems like you all have fun doing this traveling stuff and I...I'd like to try it."

"Ah, well, I'll tell you it's very fun, never a dull moment," Donna chuckled, "It can be terrifying, brilliant and funny - sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds!" Jenny admitted.

"You will. Won't she, Doctor?" Donna looked at the pair who'd remained silent for some reason.

"Hm?" the Doctor was a bit distracted staring at his Clever Girl, still awaiting her answer. Though after a couple seconds he just liked her face and decided to stare some more for his personal enjoyment.

"Jenny wants to come with us in the TARDIS," Minerva informed, her face red as she noticed he'd been staring at her. She'd been wondering what it would be like to have Jenny around in the TARDIS, and then realized by thinking that she'd practically admitted to herself she wanted to stay in the box herself.

"Oh, um...yeah, that would be nice," the Doctor looked at Jenny with a small smile, "It is."

"You mean... You mean, you'll take me with you?" Jenny stepped up, not believing her ears.

"We can't leave you here, can we?"

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jenny erupted into cheers and even hugging Donna out of her excitement. She would've hugged her father but she noticed the couple were still holding hands so she didn't want to ruin it. Of course all that didn't matter when she spoke again, "We can all travel together forever!"

Minerva's smile faded at the last word, "I can't," she mumbled.

"What? Why not?" Jenny stopped her jumping.

"I'm human..."

"Huh?" Jenny didn't quite understand, the Doctor said he was a Time Lord and she was, well, granted an echo, but still a Time Lady herself. Why would Minerva be human? And besides, what would he the problem with that?

"I'll age faster than both of you and die," Minerva she snatched her hand from the Doctor's and walked ahead.

The Doctor threw his head back and shut his eyes, murmuring, "So close, just so close..."

"I am so sorry!" Jenny covered her mouth, not exactly sure what just happened but she knew it was her fault that Minerva was mad again, "I just ruined it, didn't I?"

"It's not your fault," the Doctor waved her off, heavily sighing, "It's just a delicate topic. I haven't actually even mentioned my plans."

"What plans?" Donna asked.

Sheepishly, the Doctor looked away, "...um, I've sort of...been looking for a way to freeze Minerva's aging."

Donna's eyes widened, "Can...can you do that?"

"Don't know," he shrugged, "Lots of important humans of the future do it. I just sort of figured I could conjure one up as well..."

"For Minerva," Donna started smiling, "That's so sweet. Giving that Star-Crossed fantasy a happy ending, eh?" she nudged him and laughed when he blushed.

"I know it's none of my business but..." Jenny stepped up, confused, "...if you know Minerva's going to die much earlier than you are...why are you still together?"

She wasn't trying to be rude to Minerva nor persuade her father to leave Minerva. She quite liked the woman and secretly she yearned for Minerva to accept her as a daughter like the Doctor was beginning to do. But she didn't understand it, why put yourself in that situation if it'll lead to deception and pain? Wouldn't it be better to just separate and try to make lives of their own apart from each other with people who could correspond to their lifespan? Why go through the inevitable pain?

"Because Jenny," the Doctor turned to her, the girl picking up the sincerity in his eyes, "When you fall in love you absolutely do not care where your partner comes from or what they are. I know what Minerva is, she's human, yeah, but she's the sweetest and most adventurous human I'd ever met. I can't just be away from her..."

Jenny nodded, she had never been in love, (she'd just been born a couple hours ago), but she could tell from the Doctor's eyes how beautiful the experience was...and she'd practically just ruined it for him.

Oh that just wouldn't do.

"I'll fix it, you just watch," she promised and ran in the direction Minerva had gone to.

"Careful, warn Minerva, there might be traps!" he shouted after her.

"Kids! They never listen! They just want their mum," Donna teased but noticed how troubled the Doctor looked, "Oh, I know that look. See it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad-shock."

"Dad-shock?"

"Sudden, unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to. Plus, you've got an angry wife, that's never good."

He mock glared at her for that one, "Don't ever joke about that," he wagged a finger at her.

"You're red as a tomato!" Donna laughed, "What? Never thought of popping the question?"

"Too early for that and..." he sighed as he wondered just how beautiful his Clever Girl would look like wearing a wedding dress. A true goddess.

"Well?" Donna asked, seeing him get more and more thoughtful.

But the sound of shooting interrupted them, Jenny running back, "They've blasted through the beams, time to run again. Love the running! Yeah?"

"Where's Minerva!?" the Doctor searched for the brunette behind her.

"Oh she's already started running! She could be like a marathon runner," Jenny genuinely took a moment to think about, "But of course those chest pains of hers aren't helping."

"Again?" the Doctor dashed after Minerva. Something else was going on with the Clever Girl and he needed to know and help.

~ 0 ~

The group did all their running and came to a dead end in the corridors.

"We're trapped," Donna remarked, panting for air.

"It's a door," Minerva shook her head, touching the wall as the Doctor moved to the panel beside.

Though every time she rubbed over her heart, the Doctor glanced at her with concern. From what he could tell it wasn't suffocating her, it wasn't possessing her...so what was it doing?

"And again! We're down to 1-2 now..." Donna looked up at the new numbers above the door.

"I've got it!" the Doctor exclaimed, just about finishing up with the panel.

"I can hear them!" Jenny urged from the end of the corridor, the voices of the soldiers nearing and nearing.

"Nearly done!"

"These can't be a cataloging system," Donna looked at her notes.

"They're getting closer!"

"Then get back here!" Minerva called.

"They're too similar. Too familiar..."

"Not yet!" Jenny waved her off.

"Now! Got it!" the Doctor stood back as the door opened up.

"They're coming! Close the door!" Jenny ran back as the others went inside, the Doctor quickly closing the doors again, "Oh, that was close!"

"No fun otherwise!" the Doctor had to remark.

"It's not what I'd call a temple..." Donna looked around the place.

"If you ask me this is more of a spaceship," Minerva walked around.

Jenny looked at the Doctor with a curious look, "Is she right again?"

"Fusion-drive transport. Oh yes she's right again," he looked at Minerva with a fond smile, "Like always..." Minerva sheepishly looked away, blushing at the a look.

"What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?" Donna asked, confused

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time. This one's still powered-up and functioning. Come on!"

As they ran again, they saw someone cutting through another door.

"It's the Hath! That door's not gonna last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's gonna break out," Jenny exclaimed.

"Look, look, look, look, look! Ship's log!" the Doctor went to the controls, "First wave of Human/Hath co-colonization of planet Messaline".

"So it is the original ship," Jenny frowned, "That doesn't make sense."

"If you think that's hard, take a whack at these numbers," Donna nudged her.

"Donna, let me see those damn numbers," Minerva held her hand for the paper, "You've been going on all about these things. What's so special about them?"

"Phase one. Construction. They used robot drones to build the city," the Doctor was reading from a screen, Jenny moving beside to get a look.

"But, does it mention the war?" Donna called from her spot as Minerva read the list of numbers.

"Final entry... 'Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions.' That must be it! A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war!"

"Two armies who are now both outside," Jenny reminded.

"Donna, how did you not catch this before?" Minerva asked suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention.

"What?" the ginger peered down at the numbers.

"These are dates."

"What?" Donna looked closer, her eyes widening at her oblivion, "Oh my god, you're right!"

"Are there any numbers on the screen?" Minerva looked at the Doctor.

He checked the screen and scrolled down, "Uh, yeah, there are. It's like the numbers in the tunnels. But what's it got to do with that?"

"They're _dates_ ," she walked up and held the notes between them, "I would've said something before but I hadn't listened to Donna nor seen the numbers myself."

"I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers! And it was staring us in the face! How did I miss that!?" Donna shook her head.

"What is going on?" Jenny looked from one to another, completely lost.

"It's the date! Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day," Donna explained meanwhile Minerva looked at the screen at the dates, "It's the other way round, like it is in America!"

"Oi," Minerva looked at Donna with a frown, " _You_ all write it the other way around," Donna playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, America is right, everyone else is wrong."

Minerva elbowed her in the ribs, "Quiet Donna."

"Can we focus please?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, trying not to look as amused as he really was by his Clever Girl, oh Americans, "It's the New Byzantine Calendar!"

"Further explanation, please?" Jenny asked again, this group was so easily distracted!

"The codes are completion dates for each section," Minerva replied, "They finish it, they stamp the date on! So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out, from here, day by day, as the city got built," she looked at the paper of numbers just for confirmation, "Well done, Donna."

"Thanks and you know what? You missed an obvious too," Donna poked her forehead, making Minerva go cross-eyed for a moment to look up at the finger on her forehead, "The first number I saw back there, was 6012-07-17. Well, look at the date today!"

Minerva frowned and looked at the screen again, "07-24."

"No!" the Doctor blinked.

"What does it mean?" Jenny questioned.

"So it's been seven days, so what?" Minerva asked, lost herself.

"No, no, no, you don't understand because you were asleep when they explained this war," the Doctor shook his head, "They talked about a war that's lasted for generations and generations, as if the war was hundreds of years old..."

"But it's only been _seven_ days," she said, still not quite there.

"Seven days since war broke out."

She blinked and her eyes went wide, "Oooh! This war started seven days ago! Just a week! A week!"

"But they said years," Jenny was severely lost.

"No. They said _generations_ ," Donna corrected, "And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines..."

"They could have 20 generations in a day! Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend!" the Doctor added.

"But all the buildings, the encampments, they're in ruins," Jenny reminded.

"No they're not ruined, they're just empty! Waiting to be populated! Oh, they've mythologized their entire history! The Source must be part of that too. Come on!"

As they turned around a corner, they bumped into Martha, "Oh my god, finally!" Martha rushed to hug them all.

"Woah, woah, woah, I'm mad at you too," Minerva reminded as she tried wiggling out of the Martha's hug.

"I don't think so!" Martha shook her head and just tightened her hug.

"Martha!"

"Minerva!"

"You're filthy," Minerva whined, "Let go!"

Martha laughed and stepped back, "The cold shoulder won't work on me, missy. And I took the surface route, thank you very much, with this guy," she pointed behind them to Peck, one of the Hath who'd she'd helped with an injury.

"A Hath!" Jenny exclaimed, terrified of what it coud do her new family.

"N-n-n-no, he's fine, his name is Peck," Martha rushed beside her new friend, "He saved me, nearly died himself trying to do so but a blue light got in the way," the Doctor, Minerva, and Donna stiffened at that. Peck gurgled and Martha nodded, "He says it was cold..." Martha looked at the Doctor specifically, "... _super_ cold..."

The sound of the soldiers' voices was nearing again, "We have to go!" Minerva ran off, Jenny and Donna following her, "Is it me, or can you smell flowers?" Minerva sniffed the air.

"She's always right so let's follow our noses!" Jenny nodded, making Minerva chuckle at that.

They reached a place that seemed like a greenhouse inside, filled with palms and other plants.

"Oh, yes! Yes! Isn't this brilliant?" the Doctor took a long whiff in.

In the middle, there was a small place around a pedestal that held a glass sphere, containing shining gas.

"Is that the Source?" Donna asked.

"It's beautiful," Jenny breathed.

"What exactly is this?" Minerva looked around, liking the environment.

"Terraforming! It's a third generation terraforming device!" the Doctor answered.

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Because that's what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger! It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally..." but the Doctor couldn't finish when the Hath and human soldiers emerged from opposite sides of the room, approaching each other with their guns aimed, leaving the group in the dead center of both parties, "Stop! Hold your fire!" the Doctor ordered.

"What is this? Some kind of trap?" Cobb demanded.

"You said you wanted this war over."

"I want this war won."

"You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers. Getting more distorted the more it's passed on," the Doctor pointed at the sphere, "This is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you! It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight! No more fighting. No more killing," he lifted up the sphere from its place, "I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over!" he threw the sphere to the ground and shattered, the gases escaping and shining gold and green as it spread out in the air.

All amazed, the humans and Hath set their guns to the ground.

"What's happening?" Jenny asked.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," the Doctor replied.

"What does that mean?"

"It means a new world, Jenny," Minerva smiled at her.

"The first of many...with my mum?" she asked a tad fearful.

Minerva half-smiled, "I'm not your mom, Jenny. I don't think I could be a good one..."

"Minerva?" the Doctor turned to them, "Can we _please_ talk again?"

Jenny moved around them, hoping they'd finally make up. She turned away, only to see Cobb lifting his gun to shoot the Doctor, and even possibly hurt Minerva with the aim, "No!" she quickly jumped in front of the pair as the bullet hit her chest, collapsing into the pair.

"Jenny!" Minerva's eyes widened as the Doctor lunged to catch Jenny before she fell. Meanwhile, the other soldiers grabbed Cobb and held him down.

"Jenny? Jenny! Talk to me, Jenny!" the Doctor knelt down with her in his arms, Minerva doing the same. Martha made her way over to them to check for Jenny's pulse and wound.

"Is she gonna be all right?" Donna asked, Martha only looked up and shook her head without a word.

"A new world. It's beautiful," Jenny whispered, taking a last look around.

"Jenny? Be strong, now. You need to hold on. D'you hear me? We've got things to do, you and me, you and us," the Doctor shook her gently, looking up to Minerva with watery eyes.

"Jenny, we can go anywhere you want," Minerva sniffled, trying to avoid the Doctor's look for fear of crying, "You and us, in this big box of wonders...next stop, everywhere," she took Jenny's hand, "Yeah?"

"That sounds good," Jenny nodded weakly, trying to grip Minerva's.

"You're my daughter and we've only just got started," the Doctor told her, " You're gonna be great. You're gonna be more than great. You're gonna be amazing! You hear me? Jenny?"

She nodded once more, glancing at Minerva, "If it counts for anything, you would've made a great mum," she looked at the pair with a soft smile, "A great mum and dad," she closed her eyes and died.

"Jenny? Jenny!" Minerva exclaimed, looking at the Doctor for anything, anything that could help, "She can't die!"

He kissed Jenny's forehead, an idea popping into his head, "Two hearts. Two hearts, she's like me," he remembered, Minerva gasping lightly, "If we wait... If we just wait..." they both looked up at Martha for some support.

"There's no sign, Doctor. There is no regeneration. She's like you, but... maybe not enough," Martha shook her head.

"No. Too much. That's the truth of it. She was too much like me," the Doctor gently put Jenny to the ground and kissed her head.

He stood up and looked down at Jenny for a moment, glancing at Minerva who sniffled away as she stroked Jenny's hair. He felt his anger rise as he looked from one another, both innocent and both hurt...both hurt because of _him_. Other people, enemies, hurt them because they were trying for _him_ , when it should have been him and only him. He found himself walking towards Cobb who was still being restrained by the other soldiers. He picked up his gun and held it to Cobb's head, all these emotions spurring inside, his despair for failing yet another of his loved ones, anger because he always lost someone and it _wasn't_ fair. _He_ was the one that did wrong in the world, _he_ should be punished for his actions _not_ his daughter, not his girlfriend...

"Doctor?" Minerva's voice startled him, "Please don't...I wanna go home," she sniffled, "To the box of wonders, please. Can we go home?"

Upon hearing those words he lowered the gun and crouched down in front of Cobb, "I never would. Have you got that? I never would!" he stood up to address both parties, " When you start this new world. This world of Human and Hath... remember that! Make the foundation of this society. A man who never would!" he threw the gun away and went back to Minerva and Jenny, taking his Clever Girl into his arms where they both cried together.

~ 0 ~

Jenny was laid out in a small table, bed-like, in the theater room. The Doctor, Minerva, Martha, Donna, Cline and Peck were standing around her. Beams of light emerged through the windows, brightening up the gloomy setting, not that it mattered anymore.

"It's happening. The terraforming," Martha remarked.

"Build a city, nice and safe underground. Strip away the top soil. And there it is," Donna paused and looked at the pair, the Doctor hugging Minerva. She wondered where exactly they stood, but wasn't about to ruin it by asking, "And what about Jenny?" that was a better question instead.

"Let us give her a proper ceremony. I think it'd help us. Please," Cline suggested.

The Doctor stared at Jenny, giving a simple nod. He just hugged Minerva tighter, resting his cheek over her head.

~ 0 ~

"Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox," the Doctor replied, now all in the TARDIS console room.

Donna and Martha watched him with sympathy, Minerva off in the corridors with Martha's cellphone. Apparently, there had been numerous missed calls from her grandmother, her uncle Aaron and even Cody. She'd excused herself to go talk in private and left them in the console.

"Time to go home?" the Doctor asked Martha, looking up from the console.

"Actually, you think you can just drop me off in San Diego?" Martha stepped up, "I sort of...may have...planned to stay a night here," she confessed with a sheepish smile, "You know, do the whole sleep over with my best friend then have the Martian just bring me to San Diego in his box."

He nodded, "You can stay, of course you can."

"Right, but I think I need to go. I said I'd be in by tonight. Plus, I think the less people possible around you and Minerva, the best."

"I think you both need to just sit down and talk," Donna offered then, "It'll be a bit easier to talk now that she doesn't mind being in the same room with us."

"I hurt her too much," the Doctor mumbled, "She's only letting me hug her because of the circumstances. But she's still cross with me."

"Doctor, that blue light," Martha recalled, "That blue light is alive. It physically went in and saved that Hath. What is that thing?"

"I don't really know," the Doctor sighed as he repeated the famous words, "It's connected to the crystal inside Minerva, but as far as I know it's an entity that's alive in a way. It's tried to make contact with Minerva...and I think that it finally got into her head."

"Why do you think that?" Donna asked.

"The word she said after waking up, when we were in the cell with Jenny," the Doctor started distancing himself with his thoughts.

"Yeah, what was that?" Donna remembered the face he'd worn when Minerva had woken up, "Why did you look so...shocked and confused?"

"What did she say?" Martha curiously asked.

"Louvier," the Doctor whispered, the name still so sweet to him even if he hadn't mentioned it in centuries.

"What's that? What's 'Louvier'?" Donna insisted.

"I met a Louvier centuries ago..." the Doctor began.

"What, so that's like a name, then?" Martha caught on, "Who's?"

"When I stole a TARDIS for the first time, I visited the Silver Monsoon where I met..." the Doctor swallowed hard, "...Kaeya _Louvier_."

Donna's and Martha's eyes widened, "Louvier was her _last name_!?" they both questioned simultaneously.

"The Royal Family of the Monsoon was the Louvier's..." the Doctor stared blankly ahead, "...I've told no one that name, Minerva's never heard it. Information on the Royal Family's name is limited. The most Minerva found was the first names."

"So then how did she know about it?" Donna asked.

"That light is becoming more and more friendly with Minerva and I'd like to know _why_ ," the Doctor sighed.

"Doctor?" he heard Minerva's voice and saw her standing by the threshold, breathing heavily, her hand over her heart and her eyes filled with water like a river, "...it's my dad, he's in the hospital," she started to cry then and there, the Doctor running for her to hold her.

~ 0 ~

As Cline and Peck, the Hath, were preparing Jenny for her ceremony, the blue light emerged from the ceiling. Cline set a pillow under Jenny's head and was about to pull a sheet over her body when the blue light rushed over and scared the man with is sudden appearance.

"What the hell is that?" both he and Peck backed away from Jenny, watching in horror as the light settled over her.

Jenny's mouth opened and released a golden wisp of energy and her eyes snapped open, locked on the light around her now, hearing its hums. After a couple moments, the light rushed off again, disappearing through the ceiling. Jenny sat up with a laughter.

"What just happened?" Cline blinked with wide eyes.

But Jenny continued to laugh, a hand over her heart, "My mum is wicked cool!"

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! We're back to full chapters again, yay! Whaddya think about this one? ;)

I found this chapter a bit difficult to write because I have to write my American & Martian 'upset' with each other and I haven't done that just yet...but it's practice (foreshadowing?). The problem will be talked about in the next chapter, which is one of the important chapters (as well as the one after) to this story if I may add. So you may want to check that out next week ;)

For Reviews:

First of all, I want to point out to a guest reviewer from the last, last chapter I updated, that I didn't get your review (the one about Instagram). I don't know for anyone else but I've been having trouble seeing some of the reviews. I don't have Instagram anymore because the application just stopped working for me and I don't have patience to keep trying. Staying away from it now :)

Yeah...I'd stay away from the Doctor during that argument too . Although it seems he's not doing that bad at the moment as Minerva is more cooled down now...

Don't worry, I won't have them arguing throughout the rest of the story...far from it, actually. They'll talk more in the next chapter :)

Actually, someone will point out something ironic for Minerva of their argument, sort of like a 'cheap-shot' she hadn't even noticed lol. Whoops, sorry, but I do suggest you go watch the trailers! They look sooo good! *zips up mouth*. I do that on purpose *devious laugh* I make the pair all lovey-dovey to contrast (very deeply) the bad things that's happening around them. Eh, the Doctor's the Doctor's so he could do the unlikely, but who know what could happen in the end. Yes, I see anger is something that pushes you to say the first (and usually the worst) words you can think of. And by the way, you're theories are quite good...

...but you'll have to read the next chapter because you'll discover what really happened to Kaeya ;)


	12. The Revelations

Minerva ran down the halls of a hospital, nearly bumping into groups of nurses here and there, actual patients too which were apologized to by either Donna or Martha, the Doctor too focused on catching up with Minerva. Minerva ran like the wind even if her tears were blurring most of her vision. But she had to get to the reception room as fast as possible, her father's life was on the line! When she'd returned the calls to her grandmother, Isadora explained that her father had, had a heart attack earlier on their day. But Minerva didn't know what time the Doctor had taken them to, just that it was the same hospital her dad was taken to, also the same one Martha was now going to be working in.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" Minerva frantically pushed the little desk bell even if the nurses were literally right in front of her.

"How can we help you?" one of the nurses stopped her hand from pressing the bell again.

"My father, he was...um, he had, um..." Minerva couldn't put words together with all the crying she had and currently was doing, "...taken...um...uh..."

Martha stepped forwards as the Doctor tried to bring Minerva into his arms, "I'm Dr. Martha Jones, I'm supposed to be in tomorrow but I figured I could start earlier. Currently, I'm looking for a patient, Nicolas Souza. Brought in due to a heart attack."

"Let me check," the nurse nodded and moved over to a computer.

Martha, however, didn't wait and went behind the desk herself to help look for the patient, "I got it!" she cheered, then remembered her reason for looking and quieted down, "Sorry," she mumbled and leaned for the screen, "Uh, says he was taken in for a surgery, um...oh, he's in a room right now," her small smile however, faded as she continued to read.

"What's it say?" Minerva asked, sniffling, moving away from the Doctor.

Martha stood up, "He's sort of asleep..." she tried to think of the words as carefully as possible, "...indefinitely."

Minerva's eyes widened with horror, "Wh-what?"

"Don't panic, though," Donna quickly stood by Minerva's side, "It usually takes a while for people out of surgery to react and wake up. It doesn't mean it's a coma or anything..." she shot a look of question to Martha.

"Why don't we go visit?" the Doctor suggested.

"There are no visitors allowed for Mr. Souza for the moment," a nurse informed.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, accepting the challenge, as _if_ it could be called a challenge, "Really? Because Dr. Jones has to do a routinely check up, orders from above, isn't that right Martha?"

"Definitely," Martha nodded, "In fact, go ahead and bring me my coat and name tag, please."

"But-"

"I said now, please."

The nurse, slightly irritated, huffed and walked to do her job.

"Martha, what room are we looking at?" the Doctor asked.

"Level three, room 334."

He nodded then turned to Minerva, "Would you allow me to take you there?" he asked cautiously, he desperately wanted to talk about their status but this was not the time. He held out his hand for her, hoping she'd allow him to be close to her at a moment like this.

Minerva stared at his hand for a minute, sniffling quietly, "Okay," she nodded and reached for his hand.

He smiled at her, wishing she'd flash one of her gorgeous grins back, "C'mon, then," he squeezed her hand a bit and led the way.

"I'll wait for Martha," Donna called, sensing this time alone could perhaps help the pair.

In a moment like this, she knew Minerva wouldn't last long before she cracked and forgave the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

"There she is!" Isadora exclaimed at the sight of her granddaughter coming out of an elevator.

"Grandma," Minerva's voice broke as she ran for Isadora.

Isadora hugged her granddaughter tightly, letting her sob as she needed, "It's alright, it's alright," she stroked Minerva's hair, sighing deeply, "You'll see, everything is going to be alright."

Aaron emerged from across the corridor with Cody, silently coming up behind Isadora. Aaron placed a hand on Minerva's back, "Where've you been, Minerva?"

"Out," came Minerva's muffled answer as her face was buried into her grandmother's clothes.

"It's going to be fine though," Isadora pulled away from Minerva's hug, "Fortunately, he was brought to the hospital in good time. But the doctors say he'll take some time to wake up."

"I want to see him," Minerva stepped back, glancing at the Doctor for help, "Do you think I can go in without Martha?"

"Just let them try to take you out of that room," he cautiously reached to place a hand over her cheek, smiling softly when she nuzzled into his touch, "They'll have to go through _me_ first."

"Thank you," she whispered, admitting to herself she didn't like it when his hand left her face. But she couldn't focus on that right now. She had to see her father, the man she hadn't seen for four years and much less talked to him. She turned to her grandmother, Aaron and Cody, "What room?"

"That one," Aaron pointed to the fifth door of the right hallway.

Minerva nodded her silent thanks and glanced back at the Doctor, not even realizing she'd done it or why she had. But...it felt comforting when he nodded his encouragement for her. She started for the room and quite slowly, sniffling as she got nearer and nearer. Four years, four years it had been since she'd last seen her father. He'd been in his office at home, the door opened just a creak, working away. Minerva wanted to say goodbye to him and her mother before leaving but Sophia hadn't even appeared that day, and her father, well...

He had shut down since Olivia's death.

When Minerva entered his office, a sheepish fourteen year old girl, she'd said goodbye to him and he hadn't even looked up at her or even said a word out. With tears in her eyes, Minerva turned around and left her father for the last time. Now she was entering his room...his hospital room where he laid unconscious after a heart attack.

How things change.

Minerva stopped by the room's doorway, slowly poking her head into the room, the door half open. She gasped loudly, her hand flinging to her mouth. The Doctor eyed her from behind, debating whether it'd be alright to come after her. He didn't have much time to ponder when Minerva ran inside the room; he winced at the sound of her breaking into sobs.

Minerva had dropped to her knees beside her father's bed, the man laying unconscious as predicted, "Daddy," she took his hand into hers, resting her cheek over it, "I'm here, I'm back...please wake up," she sniffled, shutting her eyes before she really balled up into sobs.

The Doctor had moved up to the doorway, his hearts breaking at the sight of his Clever Girl and not being able to comfort her. It saddened him, it broke him, it frustrated him.

~ 0 ~

 _Three Days Later._

"You sure you don't want anything to eat?" Donna continuously asked Minerva, feeling like a mother battering her child to eat her vegetables.

But at this point, Minerva refusing to part from her father's side not even to eat, well, it was more than justified. They really only barely got her out of her father's room to bathe and get a quick change of clothes. That was pretty much it. For some reason, it was taking a bit longer for Nicolas to wake up, Martha however had assured them he was looking quite fine despite his sleeping hours. Minerva didn't take that as a sign to go ahead and leave, no. She wanted to stay until she was sure he was fine. She was afraid of that moment, however, when Nicolas would wake up and see her there...she just hoped he wouldn't shout like her mother. But for the moment, Sophia Souza hadn't even made an appearance despite her husband being in the hospital for three days. It seemed she and Marisol were out of the city making preparations for Marisol's twenty-first birthday coming up in the next month. Isadora had quite a loud argument that included shouts with her daughter, though Isadora immediately regretted it for Minerva's reactions.

Minerva was an emotional wreck, unfortunately.

The Doctor hadn't seen her like that since their landing in McDonnell's ship. But he couldn't really ask her exactly how to help seeing as they barely spoke. She wasn't cold, she wasn't angry, she wasn't happy, she was just...it was just...silent. They'd speak a few sentences, mostly if she needed anything. He was really going crazy trying to keep himself reserved. He wanted to hug her and hold her in his arms for her cry until she felt better. He wanted to sit down and talk with her, listen to how she felt about all this and then try to comfort her with some words. He just wanted to be there for her.

Martha, however, had taken liberty of practicing a few exams on Minerva due to her rapidly declining health. She was now up to speed with the whole crystal in her heart, what it represented, its effects, and even their visit to Zohar and what she'd said to them. Knowing Minerva wouldn't actually let the Doctor perform those tests, she'd decided to play the concerned best friend, which in reality was no game at all as she was truly concerned for her best friend, and practically forced Minerva into an exam room for a couple hours. Minerva insisted she was fine, that her body was just reacting to her father's situation and that she would be fine once he woke up.

She was wrong. _Very_ wrong.

"Martha, can I go now, please?" Minerva stood up from her chair, the papers of her exams barely printing out where Martha stood, "I have to go."

"In a moment, I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong, alright?" she asked.

"My father can wake up at any moment and he shouldn't be alone," Minerva did her best not to shiver so much.

"It'll only take a moment, Minerva. Calm down," Martha assured, eyeing the shivers.

"I left the Doctor waiting there and I told him I'd be back in a bit."

"Believe me, Minerva, he will not mind," Martha faintly smiled, "He'd do anything for you."

Minerva rubbed her arms, "Don't talk like that."

"Like what?"

"Like that, don't say things like that."

"Why, because it's the truth?" Martha raised an eyebrow, watching her look away, "Or because you don't want to remember how incredibly sweet he's like that to you and only you?"

"Martha, stop," Minerva warned and started heading for the door instead.

"You know, I don't get why you're still upset with him," Martha turned her back to her as she picked up the freshly printed papers into her hands.

Minerva stopped at the doorway, sighing. She didn't actually know what she felt anymore. She just felt tired...and cold. Very cold, actually. But now she knew that it was because of the crystal's effects.

"Martha, he lied, alright?" she shook her head, "That's not okay in a relationship."

"But it was to keep you from unnecessary pain," Martha pointed out.

"It's still lying, Martha. He lied and it wasn't right!"

Martha sighed, "I really don't like doing this, Minerva," she turned around, serious as she spoke her next words, "So tell me, when exactly are you planning on telling him that his precious Rose Tyler wasn't the white dove he believed her to be?" Minerva's eyes darted all around the room suddenly, fidgeting, "Cause I do believe _that_ is something he deserves to know, just like you deserved to know of the crystal in your heart."

"That was different!" Minerva exclaimed, "That was _so_ different!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Tell me why you haven't told him what Rose did? How she threatened exposing your real identity to him? Or, my personal favorite, how she blamed you for her mother being sent to another dimension?"

"I'm not gonna..."

"And why not?'

"Because he doesn't need to know!" Minerva yelled in frustration, crossing her arms and looking away as Martha leaned back on the table with a smirk.

"Oh really? Because it would cause unnecessary pain for the Doctor? Hmm, where have I heard that before?" Martha pretended to think for a moment, swaying her head.

"That's different, Martha, it's so different."

"No it's not," Martha stood away from the table and moved up to her best friend, really only trying to make her see the good intentions the Doctor had with her, just like she once had for him concerning Rose, "You knew how important Rose Tyler was for the Doctor, you knew how badly it would hurt him to know what she was really like to you, and so you decided to keep that away from him so he would have that good memory of her. And you did it with _good intentions_ just like he did with you.

Minerva's eyes starting watering up as she desperately tried looking anywhere but Martha, "Why are you telling me this? Are you trying to guilt me or something?"

"No, far from it. I just want to remind you that given the same circumstances, only the roles reversed, you would have done the same thing...you already have. So how come you won't forgive him?"

Minerva took a shaky breath and stared at Martha, knowing Martha was more than right.

~ 0 ~

"Thank you for staying," Minerva walked inside her father's room, the Doctor having taken a seat on a chair across the bed where Nicolas laid, asleep, "Martha kept me busy."

"It's no problem, did she find anything new?" he stood up from his seat and moved after her, the woman standing beside her father's bed and staring down.

"She said no."

He watched her for a second fiddle around with her father's blanket before she shook her head and sat down on her chair beside him. He knew there was something on her mind, after all this how could there not be? He wished she would talk to him like they used to. But Minerva had taken quite a reserved attitude with everyone, especially him. It seemed like she was getting over her anger with Martha and Donna but he remained on the bad list. It was understandable, he was the primary culprit of this...but it didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"You know you don't have to stay, right?" Minerva said quietly, just barely managing to pull the Doctor from his thoughts with such a low volume of voice.

"Hm?"

"This is _my_ father, _my_ family, _my_ problem, you don't have to stay when I barely even speak to you," she swallowed hard, hating herself for speaking those words. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms, that cold feeling never fading it seemed.

She didn't want the Doctor to leave her, even if he didn't hold her or hug her, his presence was enough to make her feel better. But she knew she was being unfair at the same time. She barely spoke to him nor looked at him. She couldn't do that, the man had a life of his own and she couldn't tie him down to her silly human problems.

The Doctor shook his head and took off his coat. He gently placed it around Minerva's shoulders, unaware of the small smile on her face due to his gesture, "Minerva, can we please talk?" he decided to ask, "I think we're both calm enough to speak civilly."

"I don't want to leave him," she looked at her father.

"It'll only be for a moment or two," he set a hand on her shoulder, unbeknownst that it was all Minerva needed to do whatever he wanted. She nodded silently and stood up, even allowing him to take her out of the room by the hand, "Minerva, I can't keep doing this," the Doctor turned to face her, dead serious, "I love you and your treating me like a stranger. I can't live like that."

"I already told you, you don't have to stay with me-"

"I don't have to, I _want_ to," he cut her off, being careful not to let his frustration make him yell, "Because I want to be wherever you are and _especially_ when your father had a heart attack and you clearly need me. Don't you see? We need each other."

"But you've lied..." she whispered, not too argumentative now that Martha had made her see she'd done the same to him and for a longer period of time. She moved around him and started walking away.

"But I've explained myself to you already," the Doctor sighed and went to follow her, "I didn't want to hurt you, I simply wanted to avoid giving your more problems. But you're right," she stopped but didn't look back, "I shouldn't have lied. I didn't do the right thing and instead hurt you. I'm sorry and I promise you it won't happen ever again."

She looked over her shoulder, "How do I know that?"

"Because I love you and I never want to lose you."

"But you will one day," she felt the need to remind, Jenny's words having made much more of an impact than she thought, "Because I'm human, and..."

"Here's one testament to my honesty from now on," he cautiously reached for her hand, "There's one more thing I haven't told you..."

" _More_?" she frowned, about to snatch her hand away when he gripped it.

"No, no, I promise this one is better," he assured, "I've...I've been looking for a way to try and, um...freeze your aging."

Minerva's eyes widened, completely stunned, "Oh..." was all she could say at the moment.

"Yeah," the Doctor sheepishly said, "I didn't want to tell you until I had something concrete, but...it's something I was hiding from you and...I don't want it to make an argument between us."

"It...it probably wouldn't have," she whispered.

"Still, just wanted you to know."

"Well..." Minerva looked to the side, letting a moment of silence take over.

She was well aware her hand was still in his but being truthful to herself she knew she didn't want to take it back. She didn't want to keep reminding him he'd lied. She didn't want him to leave. She just didn't want to keep arguing. She was tired, she was cold, she was scared...and she wanted her Martian to comfort her. She wanted her Martian back. Additionally, Martha's words kept running through Minerva's head again. They actually hadn't stopped since she left Martha. Martha was right, absolutely right. How could she hold the Doctor responsible in such a harsh way when _she'd_ been doing it much longer than him? She was being unfair and unjustified. And...her heart broke with the Doctor's look, he seemed so guilty, so sorry for hiding it. She understood he was doing it to protect her, just like she hid Rose's real attitude to protect him from the unnecessary pain. She had to forgive him. She _wanted_ to forgive him.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor felt the need to apologize one more time. Minerva looked back at him though stayed quiet, "I'm really sorry, Clever Girl. I didn't mean to hurt you, I would _never_ try to hurt you. I'm-"

Minerva had gone on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips, "I'm sorry too," she whispered.

He blinked and opened his mouth to say something but instead smiled like an idiot, "You're not mad anymore," he beamed.

Minerva smiled softly, "I can't stay mad at you for long, apparently. And I don't want to be," her smile faded, "I don't like lying but...I should've understood. I should have put myself in your place and thought rationally...I'm sorry."

"You have no idea how happy you're making me right now," the Doctor excitedly took her hands and gave each a kiss.

"But don't you dare do something like that again or you _will_ regret it," she warned with hard eyes, "You've never met me when I'm truly angry and what you saw was only a preview."

The Doctor swallowed with fear and quickly nodded, "Got it, truth, truth from now on."

Minerva reverted back to her usual smiles, the first one in several days the Doctor recalled, "God I've missed you," she whispered, her smile slowly fading and disappointing the Doctor.

"I'm here," the Doctor tugged her into his arms for a hug, "I've always been here for you, my Clever Girl."

Minerva started sniffling the more she thought on everything that had/was happening around her, "Doctor, I'm scared," she confessed and looked up at him, her eyes teary to the brink of breaking into sobs, "My whole world is crumbling apart," she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes at his dual heartbeat. She missed that, listening to his heartbeats at night made the perfect lullaby, even in hard moments like these it was sufficient enough to calm her, "My dad is sick, my mom hasn't even showed up nor called to see how he's doing because she's spending all her time with a surrogate daughter, my own life is at stake now and it depends solely on Kaeya who we haven't been able to find."

The Doctor made a face that Minerva thankfully didn't see, she really was enduring so much. He wished he could do something to help her, but there was nothing he could do, "I promise you nothing is going to happen to you," he looked her in the eyes, "Kaeya will help us and she'll remove it without hurting you."

"But where is she?" Minerva, exasperated, nearly shouted, "I'm patient, I am, but...I don't want to die. Not this early, anyways. I understand she's sick and I _will_ help her, honest, but she needs to help me too."

"And she will," he promised her again, "But, speaking about Kaeya, I, um...I have a question for you. About that word you said back on Messaline."

"What about it?"

"You said 'Louvier', and that word..."

"It was in my head," Minerva shrugged, "The first thing I remembered after a dream I had."

"What did you dream about?"

"It wasn't coherent, I can tell you that much," Minerva got to thinking, "There were words, lots and lots of words, that I couldn't make out. But then in the end I heard a scream, a terrible scream," she closed her eyes, "Just like the one I heard in Lazarus's laboratory," the Doctor nodded, recalling the moment Minerva had finally explained to him in the early months of their relationship, "And then that word, 'Louvier'. What is it? Do you know?"

The Doctor stepped back but still held onto her hands, "It's...it's Kaeya's name."

"Louvier?" Minerva blinked, "What?"

"Kaeya Louvier, that's her full name," the Doctor sighed, "Well, as far as I know anyways."

"Why isn't that name written in any of the books we've read?"

"It's just their picky way of putting themselves into books," the Doctor shrugged, "Sometimes they choose to leave out their names."

"Like Time Lords," Minerva recalled her theory.

"Well, not exactly," the Doctor shook his head, "I mean, their last names just aren't that important to the Moontsays. Everyone in the kingdom knew the Louvier family, but they usually just went by their titles and first name, hence 'Princess Kaeya'."

"How did I know this, then?" Minerva frowned.

"Like everything else...I don't know," the Doctor bowed his head in guilt and shame.

"But now we can both work together on it," Minerva moved her hands up to his face, "I'm scared, yeah you were right about my reaction, but it's best to know so that I can help."

"Yeah..." he looked at her with a soft smile.

"I've got to get back to my dad," Minerva sighed, though smiled herself, "But at least one thing in my life is better now," she leaned up to kiss him again, finding herself in a deeper one than she'd expected, "I've missed that," she blinked as they pulled away.

"If I could find a closet room again I'd probably snog you there and then," he admitted and chuckled when she blushed, "Go for a second round, eh?"

"Second round?" she mused, "How can there be a second round when there never was a first round?"

"Of course there was, in the Adipose Industry Building," the Doctor tapped her nose, "I took away your mp3 and to get it back you snogged me..." but as the Doctor watched Minerva, he could see that she genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't remember that," she made a face and pretended to huff as she started walking back to her father's room, "Maybe you confused it with a past girlfriend, hmm..."

"What? No, I haven't. We practically snogged all day!" he followed her there, unaware he'd raised his voice.

"Shh!" Minerva clapped her hands over his mouth, "Even if that _did_ happen, I don't want the whole building to know!"

"Minerva, are you kidding me? Because it's not funny..."

"Doctor, I'm joking. I don't remember that," she shrugged, "Now, I gotta get back to my dad in case he wakes up. Can you give a call to my grandmother and Donna? I'd like to go home and maybe get a change of clothes," she got on her toes and kissed his cheek, "And really, thank you," she said sincerely.

He nodded and watched her go away, severely confused. How could she not remember their time in a cupboard room? He could not stop thinking about that at times, and she just plainly forgot? That didn't sound right. And now that he got to thinking, that wasn't the first time she'd forgotten something...

~ 0 ~

Minerva was sitting on a chair beside her father's bed, leaning to him with her hand in his and her head resting over it. This was the closest she had ever been to him in all her life. Her father never was as cruel as her mother was but he wasn't the kindest either. While Sophia made her shouts and insults, Nicolas completely shut her out since she was young. She never understood why he'd acted the way he did...but perhaps now was her chance to get some answers because...

Minerva stiffened when her father's hand twitched. She looked up to see him moving his head, mumbling incoherent words as he slowly woke up. Her eyes widened when his head was facing hers, his eyes opening to see her.

"...Joy?" he mumbled.

Minerva let go of his hand and stood up, taking several steps back. Her heart sped up with the thought of how he'd react against her.

"I must be dreaming," Nicolas shook his head, just barely managing to realize he was in a hospital now, "What the hell happened?"

"You...you had a heart attack," Minerva explained, her voice a whisper.

Nicolas looked at her again, his eyes widening when he realized he _wasn't_ dreaming, "You're...you're here?"

Minerva nodded, her eyes watering up, "It's me...I sort of...came back...I'm here," she gave a small wave of a hand.

"Joy, it's really you," he showed a hint of a smile.

"I sort of go by Minerva now," she informed, daring to take a step forwards.

"Minerva, right," he whispered to himself, recalling her demands as a child to be called only that name, "I always did like it better than Joy," but then he shook his head, seemingly upset, "Why are you here? I told them _not_ to call you."

Minerva misunderstood his words as he didn't want to see her because he was angry with her like her mother was. In reality, Nicolas was upset to see her there because he'd specifically asked for her not to be informed of his health problems. He'd caused enough problems in her life and now that he knew she was actually living a life she wanted he didn't want to burden her with something she didn't deserve: a father who's never acted like one.

"Dad," Minerva bit her lip, again daring to step forwards, trembling with _genuine_ fear. Nicolas spotted her trembling and knew it was because of _him_. Minerva decided to go all for it and moved beside him, dropping to her knees with her hands clapped together, "I'm so sorry for what I did! I didn't mean to make Olivia angry, it just...happened! I didn't mean for her to have an accident, I swear! I loved her so much, like a real sister. You've got to believe me! And, I only left home because I knew you didn't love me anymore, even less after Olivia's death. But I'm really sorry, I love you Dad. I really do. I know I'm not the daughter you wanted, but I'm begging you, _please_ , forgive me."

Nicolas watched his daughter with utter sadness. Minerva held onto his hand like her life depended on it. In all his years, he knew he never paid enough attention to her. But he dared to blame Sophia because it was _her_ words that made him decide to keep his distance from Minerva. Sophia warned him of the possible danger Minerva represented, and stupidly he listened. He admitted he was quite afraid of Minerva in her earlier years, and whenever he doubted Sophia was right...something always stopped him, fear. He didn't want to anger Minerva, or make her hurt anyone like Sophia said Minerva would.

And he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Minerva looked so...fragile. She looked honestly upset and guilty of the blame they had placed on her. Her big green eyes were filled with shame and guilt, something a person would not own if they were truly "dangerous". A dangerous person wouldn't care of anything that happened to others...and it was clear Minerva did care. Even after her horrible life, to which he was in shame for as well, she still clung onto him and begged for forgiveness like she was truly a monster and he was God.

"Don't do that," Nicolas whispered, taking his hand from hers.

Minerva sniffled loudly as she looked up, her hearts zinging when he took his hand back. Her father didn't even want to hold her hand...

"And don't do that face, either. It makes me feel even worse," Nicolas looked away.

"I'm...I'm sorry," she wiped her tears off her face.

"And don't apologize."

Minerva nodded, "I understand," she stood up and backed away, "My grandmother is coming any moment to take care of you. I'll just, um...be on my way, then," she bit her lip hard to contain her tears as she turned away and headed for the door.

Nicolas watched her go, recalling when she'd come into his office that last day to say goodbye to him. He'd been cruel to her, never even looking up at her. He loathed that day with all his heart. He'd let his second daughter, his only daughter by that time, just walk away from him and his life. He let her go away, as a _child_ , to enter the real world when it should've been _him_ that should've taken care of her like a proper father. But he listened too much to Sophia, he'd been brainwashed.

Well, he was not about to commit the same mistake.

"Minerva, wait," he called, his voice strained from being unused for days. Minerva glanced over her shoulder, even from where she was he could see her shame, "Come back, we need to talk."

Minerva, confused yet surprised, turned around and slowly returned to her father's side. By a motion from Nicolas, she took a seat on the bed and waited for him to speak.

"There's a lot of things that need to be said between us," he began but sighed in the end, "But really, there's only one place where I can start...I am truly sorry for everything."

Minerva's eyes widened so large they nearly popped out of her head. Had she heard right? Perhaps her sleepless nights were finally catching up to her and making her hear things.

"I know you don't believe me, I wouldn't expect you to," Nicolas sighed, "But I truly am. I won't ever make up for all those lonely years you spent but...if you allow me to, I'd...I'd like to try and be closer to you."

Minerva's mouth fell open, all words evading her mind, Her father had just... _apologized_ to her?

"I'm sorry, but...but _what_?" she stood up from her chair, incredulously looking at him, "I spend fourteen years in the dark, leave for another four, and now you...you're _sorry_?"

"I know, it's hard to believe. And don't worry, I don't expect you to forgive me, but I do want you to know that I am sorry. I wouldn't be angry if you decided to go," and he truly wasn't.

Minerva, as far he could remember, truly was a sweet kid. She always so curious about everything, wanting to do things in an odd way, learn odd things and see things in odd ways. Sophia had persuaded him that it was best for her to stay within the norm or things could go bad. To his misfortune, he'd listened to his wife in everything. Poor Minerva had been forced to do things the way _they_ believed was best. He knew she suffered at their side, and so when she left...he knew, deep down, that it was probably best for her to go and make her life away from him and Sophia.

Minerva began pacing, running her hand through hair, her thoughts all jumbled, "I can't...of course I can't just _go_! Not _now_!" she shouted, not angrily but...confused!

She expected her father to yell at her, insult her or something, but, to apologize? That was a complete twist!

"You...you apologize?" she turned to Nicolas, her voice cracking in the end, "But you, you never even spoke to me! It was rare for something like that to happen. How can you be apologizing now?"

"Oh I've wanted to apologize since the day you left," he admitted to her, looking away in more shame, "That moment you left my office and closed the door...I knew I needed to apologize."

"So why didn't you!?" she frantically shouted.

"I was a coward," he shrugged, shameful now.

"I spent years on my own crying over you and mom, thinking of how much you must have hated me to give me such a crappy childhood and then blame me for something that was out of my control and still make me feel guilty over it."

"I'm truly sorry for that. I lost Olivia, my daughter-"

"I was your daughter too!" Minerva cut him off, suddenly feeling all the anger she'd put away for a while come rising up. She ignored the sharp, cold pricks on the sides of her head as she interrupted her father, "I am your daughter too and you chose to ignore me! All my life, I just wanted a hug from my mom and dad and you couldn't even give me _that_? Such a simple thing and it just never happened."

"There are no words for what I did, I know that. I don't expect you to forgive me," he swallowed hard.

"I...you're my dad, and I'd love for us to actually be a dad and daughter. So I _can't_ walk away," she stepped up, her face once again stained with tears, "All my life I've yearned to have family like all the other kids at school and if I walk away now, I won't ever know what it's like. I love you dad but I don't forgive you...but I'm willing to _try_ and build a relationship with you, a father-daughter relationship that _I_ deserve."

"You actually mean that?" Nicolas raised his eyebrows, even if his heart was in a weak condition he felt it sputter with joy as if he were a teenager.

She burst crying and ran to his side, giving him a hug that he'd dreamed of getting from his daughter, one he didn't deserve. But here was Minerva, that sweet, curious kid willing to try and forget all the suffering he caused to garner that father she wanted.

She was no monster at all.

"Minerva?"

Minerva stood away from Nicolas and turned just as the Doctor walked in, "He woke up," she gestured to Nicolas, smiling with excitement, "Doctor, he woke up!" she ran up to the Doctor and threw her arms around him for a hug, "My dad woke up!"

Nicolas watched the pair embrace a moment before realizing who that man was. Sophia mentioned a man named 'John Smith' she'd spoken to a couple weeks ago and talked about how rude he'd been with her. She also said it was the same man that was taking their daughter in dangerous routes, only enforcing Minerva's 'dangerous roots'. But that didn't look like the man she described. The way he looked at Minerva reminded him of the way his own father used to look at his mother, the look Sophia used to give him as well...

"Something happened," Minerva whispered as she pulled away from the hug.

"What? What did he say?" the Doctor demanded, already shooting Nicolas glares for whatever insults he'd given her.

"N-n-n-no, it was something good!" Minerva took his hand and led them back to Nicolas, "My dad just asked if we could start a real father-daughter relationship."

"Seriously?" the Doctor looked from her to him, seeing the hopefulness in Minerva's eyes just pouring out of her.

"And I said yes!" Minerva laughed, positively happy, "I'm going to have a dad, now. Can you believe that!?"

"Well..." the Doctor looked at Nicolas, letting him know he wasn't so believing.

"I know I don't deserve it-"

The Doctor scoffed, "Glad to see you understand."

"But I really am honest with her," Nicolas continued, looking at Minerva with a faint smile, "All these years I've never called because I was a coward. And little by little, it started consuming me...which led me here," he gestured to his bed, "This proves you should always be nice to Minerva."

The Doctor had to smile at that, ruining his 'tough' act, "She's a goddess, _always_ be nice to a goddess."

Minerva blushed, feeling a bit odd to have the Doctor say things like that in front of her _father_. She'd never thought about what her parents would say about her new boyfriend, well...perhaps she imagined Sophia a little better after the last time they spoke, but her father never once crossed her mind. And now, to have him right in front of them, it was a tad different. Even her grandmother was different, she was so sweet in allowing them to give each other little complements like that, her uncle Aaron had taken to just teasing them...

...how would her father react if he was truly determined to be a father now?

"I...I wouldn't know about her being a goddess," Nicolas admitted, "I've never been there for her."

"Maybe you should try now," the Doctor said, discarding the fact whether he sounded rude or simply honest, "You were just to the brink of death, reckon that makes you re-evaluate your life."

"Doctor," Minerva whispered to him.

She knew the Doctor was just looking out for her, even she was still shocked about her father's new wishes. But she didn't want anything to ruin it if the man was truly honest with his intentions. She looked to her father, hoping he wasn't becoming cross with the Doctor. If this new relationship was to work, she wanted, no, she _needed_ her father and the Doctor to get along.

"No, he's right," Nicolas nodded, "It did make me re-evaluate my life and choices. Although I was always sorry, this time, it made me braver...it made me tell you how I felt. And after this, as soon as I get out of here, I'm going to strive to be a good father, earn your forgiveness. You're my daughter and you deserve a father who is there for you."

"Why start later when you can start today," the Doctor shrugged, looking at Minerva, "How's about I go get Martha and tell them he's woken up and meanwhile, you can start with the greetings and whatnot? Sound like a plan?"

Minerva nodded, "Yeah."

"Can I trust you with her?" the Doctor cast a look to Nicolas, dead serious in his question. He didn't care if he was Minerva's father, the fact was the man had spent all her life ignoring her and casting her off. He knew that Nicolas had requested that Minerva not be informed of his health problems because he didn't want to worry her but the Doctor was not going to take any chances. If Nicolas made her shed a tear while he was gone, well...a heart attack would be the least of the man's problems.

"Yes, I'll start proving myself to you and her right now," Nicolas nodded.

"Well," the Doctor reverted to his happy state, making Minerva chuckle, "I'll be back," he pressed a kiss to Minerva's forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered to him.

He nodded and turned to leave, Nicolas watching her look after the Doctor. Oh, he knew that look alright. But, that was a conversation for later. Right now, he was much more interested in _her_ than anyone else. He wanted to prove that he was being honest to Minerva.

"Do you need anything?" Minerva turned to Nicolas, "Blankets? Pillows?"

"I'm fine," Nicolas pushed Minerva's hands down, needing her to focus, "All I need to know is what my daughter has been up to."

Minerva blinked, feeling odd at how her father said "daughter" in an almost... _loving_ way. When her mother called her her daughter it was always insulting, used in a harsh way. Her father looked at her in a different way, a look never seen before as a child. He _cared_ , at least he _wanted_ to care and that alone meant millions to Minerva considering she'd never seen an ounce of care from him or her mother.

And if he would try then she would too.

~ 0 ~

"Everything's looking just fine, Mr. Souza," Martha finished up checking Nicolas and stepped back, smiling warmly when Minerva quickly took her place by her father.

The Doctor had caught her up about Nicolas's change of heart with Minerva. And while the Doctor was hesitant to believe the man completely, Martha declared that _she_ believed in Nicolas 100%. She used the example of her parents to justify her reasons. Her parents had been arguing far long before she met the Doctor and Minerva and while their divorce seemed definite for months...things took a turn for the best. After living the year-that-never-was, her parents had realized what was truly important and reconstructed their marriage, now living happily together. So, after Nicolas had a life-threatening heart attack, it was more than justified for the man to reevaluate his life and realize his daughter was the most important thing he had. The Doctor had grumbled and said he'd still be keeping an eye on Nicolas.

"When can he go home?" Minerva asked, taking her father's hand.

"That'll have to wait, he literally just woke up. It'll be a couple days at the least," Martha looked over to Isadora and Aaron, "There's some paperwork that needs to be done in case either of you would like to help...?" she flashed an apologetic smile.

"I'm on it," Aaron raised a hand, Martha nodded and walked for the door.

A nurse walked in with a food tray, minimum and small doses of nearly liquefied food for Nicolas. Martha turned around suddenly, eyeing Minerva in a different light and sighed, "Doctor, after this...do you think we could have a word?"

The Doctor looked back and noticed the change of mood in his friend and nodded, "Sure...anything in particular?"

Her eyes darted to Minerva for a quick second, neither her nor Isadora noticing as they were attending to Nicolas's food, "Just something important," she gave a small smile and headed out after Aaron.

The Doctor frowned, picking up on what that "something" was. He looked back to Minerva and just... _stared_ at her. She looked _so_ immensely happy, more happy than he'd ever seen her... _well_ , perhaps their little moment in India could challenge it. But this happiness was so much different. She was radiating in her happiness that surged from the paternal relationship her father wanted to build with her. He sincerely wished Nicolas was being honest with Minerva because if it all turned out to be a ploy...he didn't think Minerva would be able to take it.

"I'll go give a call to Sophia," Isadora announced as the nurse who'd brought in the food tray walked out, "She's supposed to be in today."

Minerva stiffened for a moment, freezing as she had gone to pick up a bowl from he father's food tray. Isadora didn't notice however as she was making her to the door. But Nicolas and the Doctor were keen on their observation of the brunette.

"Anyone need anything? I'll also be calling Donna and Cody to bring some stuff from the house," Isadora stopped at the doorway and looked back, "Nothing needed?"

"No, grandma," Minerva mumbled.

Isadora sighed and went on her way. She didn't have to observe anything to know how nervous her granddaughter was to meet her mother face to face after four years. She hoped it wouldn't be a catastrophe.

Minerva sat down beside her father's bed holding a bowl of soup and a spoon in the other, "Do you mind if I help you?"

"I can do it on my own, sweetheart," Nicolas tried sitting up some more but Minerva shook her head and stopped him.

"I can do it, dad," she bit her lip and chuckled, "Sorry, it's just...it feels weird calling you 'dad' and actually having you like being called that."

Nicolas smiled sadly, "I promise you I will do everything a dad should do for their daughters...just as soon as I get out of this bed."

"You heard Martha, just a couple of days for observation," Minerva scooted closer to him.

"Uh, Minerva, I think I'll go find Martha," the Doctor moved up to the brunette, sensing this would become another bonding moment for her and Nicolas.

Minerva looked up at him and nodded, "Okay, and you know, you can go take a rest, right?" she eyed him and hoped he would realize she meant it was alright if he wanted to take a quick trip in the TARDIS. She knew the Doctor wasn't used to spending so much time in one place, a human hospital, and actually living according to the correct time.

"Yeah, but I think I'll stay here," he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Minerva happened to look up just as he took a glance down at her lips...it had been a while since they'd shared a kiss. And not just a small kiss but a genuine kiss that showed how much they loved each other.

"I'll be around if you need me," the Doctor whispered to her, using all his strength to stand up straight without kissing her.

Minerva smiled, "Okay," she breathed, her heart racing with the brief moment they'd been so close to each other.

"Okay," the Doctor nodded, though he didn't make a move to turn around and walk away.

"Okay," she mumbled, also not making a move to return to her father's feeding.

The Doctor nodded again and forcefully turned around, making his way out of the door. Minerva watched after him with a soft smile, slowly feeling her heart return to its normal pace. Nicolas had been watching the two in amusement, recalling how his brother had made the same ridiculous look as the Doctor had when he'd see his sister-in-law. He also bore that face when he'd met Sophia, according to his brother and parents. He liked knowing that someone was giving that same face to his daughter, because it meant she was properly loved and cared for, much better than her own parents.

"So," Nicolas cleared his throat and successfully sat up, Minerva snapping out of her trance of the Doctor and turning her attention back to her father, "This is the part where I play protective dad, even if I have no right, and millions of questions about you and that man over there," he nodded after the Doctor, "But in all honesty, I can see how much you love each other."

Minerva blushed and sheepishly smiled, "Is it that obvious?"

He nodded, "Just a bit."

"I don't know what to tell you, dad. We met about three years ago and it didn't even start right," she sighed in content at how the story ended, "But then...things sort of happened and...I love him," she bit her lip and looked to the side, blushing deeper.

"And he loves you," Nicolas nodded, "And that sort of eases my conscious as a terrible father," Minerva gave him a confused look that made him further explained, "...that you didn't end up in horrible hands."

Minerva laughed at the absurdity of that, as if the Doctor would ever turn out to be "horrible hands". That Martian was as sweet as ever!

"Are you happy?" Nicolas asked suddenly, Minerva pausing to evaluate his question, "After everything that your mother and I put you through...are you happy? Has that man managed to make you happy like you deserve?"

Minerva's face softened as she thought of all the times she and the Doctor had spent together, from beginning to end. Sure, their start had been a bit... _tensed_. But things progressively started to get better. He'd noticed her more and more, made her realize things she never even considered like the fact that while she wanted the Doctor to get to know her _she_ wasn't entirely ready to open up. He made her see things she never would have thought about. And then things started picking up, things started _clicking_. Little by little he managed to make her open up and steal bits of her heart. Yes, they had their ups and downs...but somehow he always managed to make it alright. And even know, when she was terrified of what could happen with her health, the Doctor made her feel calm and protected.

She was happier than she ever imagined she could be.

"I am _so_ happy, dad," Minerva took a long sigh, "So, so, so happy."

Nicolas nodded, believing her to the fullest extent, "Then I thank him for that, I'll always be thankful for that. And, what does he does for a living?"

Minerva raised her eyebrows, "Um...we, um, well, he um, he travels," she offered a small smile, "A lot...all over the world..."

"And time?"

Minerva nearly choked on her own saliva, "What?"

Nicolas smiled warmly, "Does he also travel in _time_?"

"Dad, that's sort of impossible," Minerva set the bowl down on the tray behind her.

She didn't like lying to her father when they were starting out a real father-daughter relationship. But he was who he was and that meant he would never believe she traveled with an alien of 903 years old in a blue box that was smaller on the inside and traveled through time and space. Besides, he'd just had a _heart attack_. He couldn't possibly take all that without some sort of health issue.

"Minerva, it's alright, your mother and I know about it all," Nicolas had assumed where her thoughts had gone to.

"You...do?" she blinked.

"We've had contacts in England, well, Sophia did. She's had you under observance for quite some time. That's how she got the numbers of your friends, the Tyler's, I believe? And then Dr. Jones's number, pretty sure right now she's working on your newest friend, what was it?"

"Donna."

"Yeah, she's keen on making you come back. But you gotta listen to me, Minerva, you can't stay here. Sophia...she has these ideas about you," Nicolas was careful as he chose his words for Minerva, "And if she convinces you to stay..."

Minerva sensed his honest concern for her and took his hand, "It's okay, I...don't plan on staying here to live. I'll visit you though, I promise I will."

"Good," Nicolas was relieved to hear that, "Very, very good," he squeezed her hand.

Minerva nodded with a small smile, actually a bit curious to know why her father seemed so worried over her and Sophia. She knew her mother wanted her back to keep a close eye on her and maybe even lock her up but when she saw her father's eyes she could tell he was...scared. Scared for her and that alone made her even more fearful of what Sophia had in mind for her.

~ 0 ~

"Thank you," Martha called out as Aaron walked ahead of her in a hallway, having just finished up the paperwork that would release Nicolas Souza in about two days. As she turned into a new hallway, she bumped into the Doctor, "Ow!" she stumbled back.

"Sorry, sorry," he shook his head and fixed himself, "I just wanted to see what you needed to talk about."

"Right," Martha looked around and pulled him to the side, looking suspicious if the Doctor had describe.

"Martha, what is it?" he asked.

"I performed some tests on Minerva, and you have to understand that here the machines are a bit...amped-up up now that UNIT has me secretly working here," she said quietly as several employees walked past them, "So all the machinery is able to detect any nonhuman aspects."

"Alright... _and_?"

"I saw the crystal in Minerva's heart...but it sort of...s _pread_."

The Doctor stiffened at that, "Spread?"

Martha nodded, "Yeah, I can still see the original crystal in her heart but now there's something new. Doctor, there's _pieces_ of little icicles running through her _bloodstream_."

"What?" he frowned, "That's not possible. I performed dozens of tests on her and the crystal never showed any signs of contamination in other parts of her body."

"Well that's just it, it's not contamination because it's not doing anything. It's not harming her but it's not benefiting either. I saw one, and it looked like...it's just adding water to her body."

"Increasing the amount of water in the body..." the Doctor blinked, trying to recall why that seemed so familiar to him.

"That's not the worst part," Martha crossed her arms, looking even worse than before.

"There's _more_?"

"This is sort of an external problem...and it concerns me too."

"How so?"

"You know that UNIT has me working here undercover because there's something odd going on around here, something _alien_ odd," her voice became lower, "I've been given fingerprints, DNA scans, a complete file on the mysterious patient this hospital helped years ago with. Doctor," she stepped closer, "That patient is _Minerva_."

~ 0 ~

Minerva was walking down the hallway, towards an elevator ahead. She'd gotten word from her grandmother that Donna would be picking her up to take her home for a change of clothes and was going to be waiting outside the hospital. Isadora was coming in to take her place in the meantime guarding her father. Minerva told her father to tell Martha and the Doctor about her quick trip so they wouldn't worry.

She clicked the elevator button and stepped back as the doors opened...

...only for her _mother_ to appear on the other side.

"Oh my god..." Sophia Souza frowned upon seeing Minerva.

"M-mom?" Minerva breathed.

Just like her father had retained his deep, brown shade of hair and blue eyes her mother's appearance remained the same. Her dyed-brunette hair hung above her shoulders in small curls. Her blue eyes big and piercing just like she remembered, just like Olivia's were. She was dressed in her usual professional attire, just like she always accustomed to as a child.

"Joycelin you have a _lot_ of explaining to do," Sophia stepped out of the elevator, Minerva already feeling belittled by the way her mother was staring at her.

"But...but why? I didn't do anything," Minerva whispered, "I've been taking care of dad all this time while you've been with Marisol."

"Ha, think that'll make me believe you had nothing to do with this?"

And then Minerva experienced a horrible re-encounter with her mother.

Sophia stepped out of the elevator and grabbed Minerva by her wrist, squeezing it tightly that it made Minerva yelp under the pain she felt, "Ow! Ow! Ow! Mom, that's hurting me!" Minerva tried wiggling her wrist out.

"You took Olivia from me and now you're going after my husband? Well let me tell you I won't accept that! You've done enough!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"And then the world starts getting sucked into all these alien problems around the time _you_ leave the house! Coincidence I think _not_!" Sophia shouted, attracting some eyes of the employees and patients who were out in the hallways, "I just know everything that's happened so far was _your_ fault!"

"Mom, we've just reunited after four years and _this_ is how you're greeting me!?" Minerva's eyes watered up at the ferocious look in Sophia's eyes that were for _her_.

"I could care less of a mother-daughter reunion!" Sophia snapped, "I've wanted you home years ago so that I could finally do what I should've done years ago with you, lock you up! You're a menace to everyone you meet!"

"Please stop saying those things to me!" Minerva cried, trying to pry her mother's hand off her, "I haven't done anything!"

"So you say but I know who you really are, a murderer!"

"Mom!" Minerva started to cry as Sophia shook her violently.

"Oi! You better get your hands off her right now!" the Doctor ran down the hallways, Martha rushing behind him.

"You stay out of this!" Sophia snapped, not bothering to look up from Minerva. She'd finally gotten the culprit of nearly every disaster this planet had endured and no man would stop her from locking her up.

But the Doctor wasn't having any of that, as if he would just let this go. He practically pushed Sophia against the elevator then took Minerva into his arms, keeping her far away from the crazy woman.

"You don't _ever_ lay a finger on her, do you understand!?" the Doctor growled, gritting his teeth, his own ferocious look for Sophia.

Sophia fixed herself and glared at him, "And who the hell do you think you are? That's _my_ daughter and I do as I please."

"Oh I'm sorry, let me introduce myself to you, I'm John, the man you were ever so excited to meet."

" _You're_ the boyfriend?" Sophia's eyes narrowed, "The time traveler, that's you? You might as well be locked up with her too! Both causing havoc and deaths everywhere!"

"You are going to need to quiet down," Martha stepped up, "There are patients that need the quiet and you are not helping."

"Stay out of this!"

"Don't talk to her like that!" Minerva snapped, sniffling loudly. She wanted to stand up to her Sophia, demand to know why she was acting this way so... _violent_. But, as the Doctor kept her secure in his arms, she realized she was _terrified_ of her mother. She was truly, properly afraid of what the woman could do to her if she stepped away from the Doctor. She was her mother...and she was _afraid_? Was that right?

" _You_ are going to come _here_ ," Sophia pointed at Minerva then a spot beside her, "Where I will take you where you belong, in a cell!"

"Over my dead body you will," the Doctor scoffed, "And I warn you I have several ones left to go over."

"You are her mother, what the hell is wrong with you?" Martha frowned.

"I am not the mother of that," Sophia shook her head and pushed past them, "I'm going to see my husband and when I am finished you can rest assured Joycelin, that you will pay for what you've done to my family," she continued on her way.

Minerva covered her mouth as she cried harder, louder, "She hates me, she actually _hates_ me!"

"It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor rubbed her back, letting her cry into his jacket, "She doesn't deserve to have all your tears."

"Yeah, you shouldn't give her that satisfaction," Martha turned to them, feeling horrible her best friend had been stuck with that woman for a mother.

"But she's my mom, she's supposed to love me," Minerva shut her eyes, the pain just extremely unbearable. She felt odd, weak, so incredibly tired of it all. The same sharp pains struck at the sides of her head, feeling like a rush of blood or something...but prickly, like there were something with pointy edges pricking at every side of her head, and iced cold too!

"Minerva?" Martha tilted her head as she studied the brunette, the Doctor too preoccupied with making her feel better to actually pay attention to Minerva's external appearance.

Minerva's crying began fading...until she collapsed.

"Minerva!?" the Doctor caught her before she fell to the floor, "Minerva!? Wake up! Minerva!"

"Quick, get her into a room, now!" Martha motioned for him to follow her down a hallway. The Doctor quickly scooped Minerva into his arms and hurriedly dashed after Martha.

The blue light emerged from the ceiling, glowing, and sped after the trio.

~ 0 ~

What's wrong with her?" Donna asked, staring at Minerva who now laid on a hospital bed, unconscious.

Minerva had still not awakened from her sudden collapse after meeting her mother earlier. What's worse is that somehow things went _very_ bad for her body afterwards. The bits she had inside her bloodstream were beginning to, for lack of better words, 'explode'. They weren't harming her (yet) and was merely making the water levels in her body rise up and down. After that, her skin had begun losing its color, like it's melanin was just fading away, making her look extremely pale. And no matter what, she just wouldn't wake up. It was as if she'd entered some kind of coma.

"We don't exactly know," Martha sighed.

"Martha, you _can't_ alert UNIT about her, you can't," the Doctor said, currently sitting beside Minerva on a chair, her hand in his, simply staring at her.

"UNIT? What's UNIT got to do with this?" Donna looked between them with confusion.

"Remember how I was transferred here to investigate a mysterious patient this hospital used to help?" Martha asked and Donna nodded, Martha sighed, "Say hello to the mysterious patient," she gestured to Minerva.

Donna's eyes widened as she stared at Minerva, " _Her_? What!?"

"She's not human," the Doctor mumbled, rubbing Minerva's hand.

"Why do you think that?"

"We don't, we're just sort of assuming," Martha sighed, "We're putting pieces of a puzzle together."

"So care to elaborate?"

"Her human blood suddenly turns unknown, so we already know her body was in transition. But, transition to what? And why? What caused it? Answer, the crystal in her heart. It must have been that..." the Doctor paused, "...I supposed the crystal in her heart appeared after the Master...but what if that wasn't it?" he looked at the women as new ideas struck him, "...there's a lot of ways to hide alien technology, alien aspects, hidden until it _wants_ to be seen. Crystal suddenly makes an appearance, makes all these effects and then it spreads...pieces enter the bloodstream and..."

"Advance a transition!" Donna exclaimed, surprised she'd actually understood that.

"So this whole thing...this could've started a while back," Martha blinked, "Back with Lazarus, remember?" she gasped, "Oh my God, don't you remember, Doctor? You said that cabinet thing, the crystal inside it, it could activate certain genes of a person...what if that's what happened?"

"Heals, unlocks, makes genes dominant," the Doctor rubbed the side of his head as he grew even more confused, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, how could I have missed that!?"

"So that's it, then, Minerva's an alien too?" Donna wanted the confirmation so they could get started on how to help Minerva.

"We've spent enough time with Minerva to pick up on anything non-human," Martha frowned, "What if we're wrong...?"

"Well there was the thing about her records," Donna mumbled and shrugged lightly.

" _What_ records?" Martha turned to her, even the Doctor glancing at her suspiciously.

Donna looked between them nervously, realizing that perhaps she should have mentioned it before, "Well, um, Doctor," she looked at him for a moment, "You remember that first day we re-met in the Adipose building?" he nodded, "I told Minerva that her records were all wrong."

"Wrong _how_?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

"I was on a mission to find the Doctor and Minerva and so I thought if I started with Minerva I could maybe find them easier. I knew she was human so that meant she had to have legal papers about school or something. And...I have some friends," she spoke quietly, "...some friends that don't exactly follow the...laws," she whispered, "Good people, though, but anyways the point was I asked them to help me locate a 'Minerva Souza'. They looked through everything and ultimately found things about her. But then they brought to my attention that nearly all her papers were...fake."

"Fake?" the Doctor shook his head, "No, no, that...that's not right. She never had a problem like that when she was in school. I was there, I saw her registrate for everything in the end. Her diploma, everything...that was real."

"I don't think they were," Donna sadly said, "In fact, I don't think even _she_ knew they were fake. The birth certificate for example, I looked at it on a computer and it was forged. My friends are really good with that kind of stuff, believe me," she spoke quietly again, "There are no records of a baby being born in San Diego, October 31st 1990 with the name 'Minerva Joycelin Souza'. She doesn't exist in the records!"

"Why are you telling me this _now_?" the Doctor scowled at her, "That is some pretty useful information I needed to know about!"

"I don't know, I sort of forgot about it. The primary focus was making sure she didn't die from that crystal. I'm sorry, I should've said something, you're right," Donna sighed, "I just hope it's not too late."

"I need to figure out what she is," the Doctor suddenly said, looking back at Martha, "Do you think I can have the files on her? Her patience records, everything UNIT had on her?"

"Consider it done," Martha nodded.

"And Donna...give me everything you have on Minerva," the Doctor said to her as well, "Anything and everything," he clarified so she wouldn't 'forget' something else.

"Yeah, of course," Donna agreed, "But, um...what are you going to do if UNIT finds out?" she had to ask. She didn't like to think anyone would come and take Minerva away for something that wasn't her fault...but it did have to be thought of should the case arrive.

"I'm not reporting anything for the moment," Martha shook her head, "I'll stall them as long as I can."

"And if they come, I'd like to see them get through _me_ ," the Doctor muttered, gripping Minerva's hand in his, "I won't let anyone take you away from me," he spoke softly to the unconscious woman, passing his other hand through her hair, "No one will hurt you, my love. I'll protect you," he leaned up to kiss Minerva's forehead.

The Doctor would truly be damned if any UNIT worker tried to lay a finger on his Clever Girl, even just for a scan. Absolutely _no one_ was about to study her like a lab rat. He'd figure everything out and then help her out, and soon they would be back in the TARDIS, next stop everywhere.

~ 0 ~

Minerva had to be left alone, the trio forced to do their own things. Martha had to go check on other patients, Donna had to stall Minerva's family from learning why the brunette was truly absent, and the Doctor had to go find a certain hated woman in the building...

However, no one would have ever guessed that another person had entered Minerva's room...a certain light, a blue light.

It roamed and roamed around the room, as if waiting for a right time. And once Minerva scrunched her face, it zoomed straight for her. However, when it touched Minerva's skin, it immediately sped back, away from her. Minerva's scrunched face deepened like she'd been in pain...

The light hummed sadly and left the room.

"Too...cold," murmured Minerva in her sleep.

* * *

 _"Take these," Minerva could hear someone saying, "Hurry, put them on," two silver, round, separate cuffs? were placed on someone's wrists._

 _"There's not...a l-lot of...t-time," another person weakly said._

 _"Shut up, there will be," the first voice urgently said, "Earth, right? Are you sure about that?"_

 _"Do it...please," the second voice sounded as if they were struggling to fight for their life!_

 _Minerva could see a cave-like environment. It was dark but she saw the figures of two women in a small room, one of them (probably the one that seemed alright) was pacing back and forth, trying to figure something out on her wrist. The second woman was leaning against a wall, her arms clutched around her stomach, breathing heavily._

 _"Oh, I'll hate this," the first woman reached for the second woman and took one of her hands and put it over her wrist, "Here we go," she took a breath and then a flash of light overtook the scene._

* * *

~ 0 ~

Zohar of the Monsoon prepared herself a nice, iced drink for herself, just taking a seat in her flower shop when the blue light rushed through the door and straight to her.

"Uh oh," Zohar put down her crystal glass, "You're _really_ not supposed to be like that anymore. Still not luck, then?"

The light hummed, Zohar nodded as it explained everything, telepathically. Zohar noticed the change in the light, in the beginning it could barely hum but as the days went by, or months for her, it was growing stronger. That was good, very good, except it would be even better if it would do that in a _body_.

"Well if it burns what exactly can I do?" Zohar raised an eyebrow, "Can't exactly just show up on Earth and tell them everything? You should've let me done that from the beginning," she pointed with a mock-scolding look.

The light hummed again.

"Well, even if I did try, what can I do? I can't force you into the body, the body has to accept you. I mean, to say it didn't even accept the necklace," Zohar's gasped with an idea, "Oh! I know! The necklace!" the light hummed like crazy, making Zohar groan, "Gosh, I was just saying. Yeah, yeah, darkness and whatnot but if the body can accept the necklace then it'll be easier to accept this part too and finally be who you used to be," she gestured to the light, "Problem is..." she set her elbows on the counter as she thought, "I can't exactly call the Doctor. He didn't give me his stupid box's number. I'll have to wait for him to come to me," the light hummed, "Oh, really?" Zohar raised an eyebrow, "Well, if she's fallen into the coma then it won't be long till he figures it out. Although," she snorted, "If he didn't figure it out based on the cave 'magically' opening up, the 'links' between 'Kaeya' and 'Minerva' we may be here for a couple more centuries."

The light made rounds around the store, humming on and on.

"Sorry, but...he's a bit thick sometimes," Zohar mumbled, "Will never understand what you saw in him..." she smirked as the light hummed and hummed in irritation.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor marched down the hallway where Sophia Souza was making her way in the opposite direction. Without a word, and barely restraints, he snatched her by the arm and started pulling her away.

"What the hell do you think you are doing!?" she demanded, half-dragging herself to slow down the man.

"You are going to shut the hell up and you are going to listen to me!" he pushed her into an empty room and slammed the door shut, locking it and turning to her, a look on his face that not even Sophia wanted to mess with, "Do you know where your daughter is at the moment?"

"I frankly can't find myself to care. For all I know, she's on the run again," Sophia crossed her arms.

The Doctor walked up to her, backing her up and forcing her to sit on the foot of the bed, "You're gonna listen to me."

"What?" she huffed.

"Your daughter is in a coma right now, thanks to _you_ ," he pointed at her, nearly taking out her eye.

"Coma? Seriously?" she raised an eyebrow.

The Doctor was so shocked that not even _that_ piece of information managed to get through the woman. After all, Minerva was her daughter, how could she not remotely care? Then again, if she wasn't even human than the most probable explanation for Sophia's attitude towards Minerva sprang from the fact Minerva wasn't her biological daughter. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Being in a coma would mean Minerva wouldn't hurt anyone else anymore," Sophia calmly said.

"Minerva doesn't hurt _anyone_! _You_ hurt _her_!" the Doctor shouted angrily, "What the hell is wrong with you!? What could Minerva ever have done to deserve such a cruel mother like yourself!? Even if it was through adoption!"

"She killed my only daughter!" Sophia yelled right back, standing up with tears in her eyes, accepting easily that the man had figured out Minerva wasn't her daughter somehow, "She killed my Olivia, my Liv...and she's yet to pay for that!"

The Doctor stared at her for a moment or two, unbelieving the woman in front of him, "Unbelievable, you know, I've heard all the lousy things you've done to Minerva, the biggest one was blaming her for a death she wasn't responsible for," Sophia scoffed and looked around, her eyes building up more water, "And I always told her that you were just blinded by your pain to realize the big mistake you've done...but now I see it," the Doctor stepped forwards, looking Sophia dead in the eye, "You actually, firmly, _believe_ Minerva had something to do with Olivia's death."

"Because she did!" Sophia cried, wiping her tears off her face, "Minerva killed my Olivia!"

"How!?" the Doctor had to fiercely bite his tongue to keep himself from yelling at her again, "How can a 13 year old possibly kill a twenty year old when she was no where near the accident!?"

"She's dangerous, I don't even think Minerva herself realizes just how much of a danger she is to other people. And frankly, I don't want her to know how much power she possesses."

"Why? Why do you say that?"

Sophia looked to the side, "You wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

But Sophia remained silent, refusing to utter another word. So...the Doctor thought of another tactic. He didn't like it, but if he got Sophia to speak words that he could use to help Minerva, then so be it.

"If you tell me, then I could probably use it to get Minerva far away from Earth," he warned, Sophia looked at him, still remaining quiet, "And I believe that's what you wanted, right? Lock up Minerva somewhere where she can't hurt anyone? Well, here's your chance. You tell me what is it about Minerva that makes you certain she's a murderer and I'll keep her far away from this planet."

"How do I know you're not lying?" she asked.

"Because I want her far away from _you_ ," he spat.

"Mutual interests," she sighed, "Alright. I'll talk."

He nodded and moved for a chair then pulled it back in front of the bed where she took a seat once more, "Tell me."

"She's _not_ who she claims to be," Sophia leaned forwards.

"And who do you think she is?"

"I have no idea," she whispered, her terror mounting as she spoke quieter and quieter, "But I can assure you she is _not_ human. No human has _that_ kind of power...no creature should."

"Alright, well, you're not the first to make that accusation," the Doctor sighed, thinking of Martha and UNIT, "And I'd like to know why you are so sure she's not human."

What better way to start his research than by hearing the thoughts of someone who'd lived with Minerva for fourteen years.

Sophia took a deep breath, disliking to bring that day up, that horrible day, "It started seventeen years ago," she began, "I was walking down the street..."

* * *

 _Sophia Souza was walking down the San Diego streets in the dark night, speaking on the cellphone she held to her ear, "No, Caroline, I can't do a case tomorrow. What? Well, because I have to take Olivia to the dentist tomorrow. Yeah well sorry if I value my seven year old daughter more than a lousy case. I'll talk to you tomorrow," she hung up._

 _"It'll be alright, it'll be alright," Sophia heard from a small alleyway beside her._

 _Sophia stopped and turned around to the dark alley, her hand carrying her cellphone lowering a bit, "Hello? Is anyone out there?"_

 _There were a couple murmurs that made Sophia a bit uneasy. She looked around and saw no one else in the streets, not even a single car to help her should something bad happen._

 _"Please," came a soft voice from the dark alley, making Sophia's head snap back ahead. A young woman, probably twenty five or so, with ashy brunette hair and piercing blue eyes that glimmered, emerged through the darkness, "Help us..."_

 _"Oh my god, are you alright?" Sophia didn't move from her spot, the brunette using a hand on the wall beside her to support herself, her other arm wrapped around her stomach._

 _She was dressed rather oddly too, thought Sophia. The woman wore a silver gown that reached down to her ankles and had bell-sleeves. Bu the dress was tattered and torn at the sleeves and the bottom. Through the torn sleeves Sophia could see silver streaks running on the woman's arms._

 _"We need your help," a second voice called, a black-haired woman wearing a baby-blue dress with white leggings and...crystal flats, appeared._

 _"With...what?" Sophia stepped back, her hand gripping her cellphone in case there was a call to be made._

 _"Her," the black-haired woman responded, looking very sweaty for some reason._

 _It was late October and the crispy nights were barely beginning, how could the woman be so sweaty?_

 _"What's wrong with her?" Sophia asked._

 _The brunette slowly unwinded her arm from her stomach to reveal a large circular, blood blotch on her side. Sophia gasped, "Oh my god!" she covered her mouth with her hand in shock._

 _"She's been wounded," the black-haired woman, "We'll need your help. I...cannot stay for much longer," she fanned herself and looked up to the moon, "What is wrong with this world?" she mumbled._

 _"It'll be alright," the brunette assured, pushing herself off the wall with her hand, "I can trigger it, I can...I know I can, but I'm going to need your help afterwards, PLEASE," she looked at Sophia with a hopeful look in her eyes._

 _"You're going to trigger what?" Sophia, trembling, asked._

 _"To find the man I love, I'll need to hide...and to hide, I can't stay like this," the brunette looked to the black-haired woman and nodded, "He survived, I know he did...he had to..." she said_ _determinedly._

 _The black haired woman stepped back, looking fearful as ever, "This is impossible," she looked at her friend._

 _"Zohar, it's the only way I can make sure it works," the brunette closed her eyes and breathed heavier._

 _Zohar stared at the 'cuffs' on her friend's, Kaeya's, wrists, "But we don't know if those work. They're not tested."_

 _"What? What's not?" Sophia didn't want to be lost on any details that could potentially save her life later on._

 _"These," Kaeya held her wrists out for her to see._

 _"What are those?" Sophia eyed the intricate designs on the metal-looking cuffs._

 _"A version of a Chameleon arch," Kaeya smiled a little through her pain, "Moontsay style of course."_

 _"That is completely dangerous!" Zohar added, struggling to breath now with the increasing heat she felt, "Especially in the way you're about to do it!"_

 _"So it is, but it's my only way," Kaeya swallowed hard._

 _"But you can't use it at the same time you-"_

 _"This is the ONLY way I know it'll work," Kaeya snapped and then groaned loudly from the sharp pain in her stomach, "Or at least have a better chance of it, anyways."_

 _"Good luck, I suppose," Zohar sighed._

 _"Th-thanks," Kaeya looked at Sophia with pleading eyes, "Please, please help me afterwards. If it works I won't know who I am anymore. Please help me, I beg you..."_

 _"I don't...I don't understand..." Sophia looked between the two women._

 _"I can do it, I can do it, for him I can do it," Kaeya murmured and opened her arms wide, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. She had to do it, if she wanted to see him again, she had to trigger it. She loved him and she would do the impossible if it meant she had a chance to see him again._

 _And suddenly..._

 _She tilted her head back as a blue light engulfed her body and sprang to all the sides. Sophia's eyes widened at the sight, her arm lowering and cellphone dropping to the ground. The brunette screamed at the top of her lungs, clearly in pain as the blue light glowed stronger._

 _Sophia looked at Zohar, noticing how terrified she was as well, probably even more than Sophia herself. It looked like she was CRYING too._ _Although, Sophia did notice a string of blue light rushing up into the sky. Her gaze was brought back to the two women however, well...ONE woman now that she looked._

 _The brunette had disappeared..._ _and was replaced with a toddler._

* * *

The Doctor stared in shock, his eyes wider than they had ever been in his entire life.

"So, that's the story," Sophia finished, "The other woman, with black hair, she said their people, um...they're powered by emotions. She said there was a possibility that 'Minerva's' emotions could break through the thing, the arch, whatever it was. She said it _would_ eventually. So that's why I've always made sure Minerva stayed away from everyone, she's a danger. She gets too angry she could end someone's life...and she did. My Olivia!"

The Doctor was staring at the brunette with wide eyes, sputtering incoherent words as everything inside him was frozen with utter shock.

Sophia stood up with fury, "So don't you tell me that that woman is innocent because she's not! I may not have proper evidence but I just know that her stupid emotions must have had something to do with Olivia's accident," but the Doctor still didn't make a proper response for her, "Hey!" she slapped him on the arm, "I am talking here!" still no answer, "HEY!" she shouted.

The Doctor jumped out of his chair and bolted out of the room.

~ 0 ~

Zohar was humming a tune to herself as she watered a flower in her shop when she heard the entrance doors flinging open.

"You forgot one piece of the story!" the Doctor shouted angrily, stopping at the counter where Zohar had her back to him, "You can REGENERATE!"

Zohar looked back with a smirk, "...oops?"

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! Uh oh...what? Kaeya can...what? Turning point of the story :D And just a heads up, the next three chapters will all be original content that will be emotional, fun, and will include the appearances of Marisol Souza, Stacey Donovan and...*shivers* Sophia Souza.

Just a note before I comment on the reviews, school starts for me this Monday (sobs violently) so an update for that week may be a bit later as I try to find myself in this new wonky schedule I got (as it is very crappy).

For Reviews:

Don't know what exactly Time Lord shenanigans you meant but I'm going to go ahead and congratulate you on your winning theory (as well as anyone else who had guessed around those lines!) eek! :) I was trying to leave small hints about it so I hope it was visible. About the crystal...you'll have to read the next chapter ;)

I've updated! Whoopee! Hope it was to your liking :)

Mum's always right, indeed. That's what my mom always tells me so I guess it's true .-. Aww, really!? That makes me feel so good about my writing lol River, River...I can just say I'm _so_ excited to unravel her story with Minerva  & the Doctor ^.^

You read it all? Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comment! I really like to hear whenever people like my stories because it motivates me to keep writing more! Especially because the first couple of chapters for the last story weren't that great (and contained more spelling errors) so I know that must be kind of annoying . Thank you once again and I hope this chapter was to your liking as well! :)

So, next chapter is all that explanation thingies, including the crystal and what will happen to Minerva...er, Kaeya...er...until next week! :)


	13. The Identity Crisis

Zohar watched the Doctor frantically pace up and down her shop, rambling at light speed of everything she'd done wrong and of everything that was happening to Minerva and finishing up with the most important part...a Moontsay regeneration cycle.

"It's impossible!" he slammed a hand on her counter, more frustrated than angry, "A creature cannot just _regenerate_!"

" _You_ can," Zohar pointed, the Doctor less than pleased she wasn't taking him serious.

He'd just found out his past love had the ability to regenerate and was coincidentally found by Sophia Souza as a toddler...seventeen years ago...adding up to Minerva's age at the current moment...

Zohar started to chuckle, earning a hard look of the Doctor, "I am serious!" he snapped, shutting the woman up instantaneously, "My girlfriend is in a coma right now, her mother just told me a story of her finding as a grown woman. An _alien_ woman... _Kaeya_. Except,Minerva isn't Kaeya, she can't be...right?"

There came a soft hum that made both look up to see the blue light swarming down from the ceiling, encircling the Doctor for a moment before moving beside Zohar.

The Doctor, with confused eyes, simply pointed at it, "And please, for the love of God, someone tell me what the hell that is!"

"You're right, Doctor, Minerva isn't Kaeya..." Zohar nodded, "...because currently, Kaeya is there," she pointed to the light, it glowing as a response, "And in the necklace."

By this time, the Doctor was plain done with the situation and woman. He'd forcefully had to leave Minerva alone...well, not alone, alone. She was being taken care of by Donna and Martha, Minerva's family was still in the dark about her sudden coma situation. But still, _he_ needed to be there, by her side, protecting her from UNIT and anything else that would harm her. But no, he was currently on another planet, trying to figure out what had really happened and Zohar was talking about some light and necklace.

"Don't give me that look," Zohar suddenly said, raising an eyebrow, "And remember, I can tap into your mind and show you what happened. I'm telepathic like you. Hm, another characteristic we share," she smirked, "Kaeya regenerated, turning into the toddler that grew up again to be Minerva."

"You're gonna need to finish that story," the Doctor warned, choosing to ignore the last part, "And it better be true. I haven't got time to waste."

"The story I told you _is_ true...it's just I left out some things."

"Why? Why would you do that!?"

"Because I was under orders by my princess not to say anything," Zohar gestured to the blue light, "She can still communicate perfectly with me, both being pure Moontsays. You weren't ready, and neither was Minerva."

"Zohar," the Doctor gritted his teeth, patience nearly an imaginary line at this point.

"Fine," Zohar raised her hands in defeat, definitely starting on the story now, "Look, like I said before, the ancestors of the Moontsays met a group of banished Time Lords. Together, they built the Silver Monsoon. As time went by, of course some Time Lord and Moontsay were bound to get together, and well.." Zohar motioned with a hand the obvious step a relationship always took, "...they discovered that they were more than compatible with each other, and...conceived."

"That's impossible," the Doctor shook his head, "Time Lords with Time Ladies, Moontsays with Moontsays, humans with...everyone," he waved that last one off as it threw off his examples.

"The Moontsays are a... _subspecies..._ of the Time Lords," Zohar struggled to say those words due to how much detestation her people had received with that statement, "The ancestors of the Moontsays were originally part of your people," she had to smile a little when the Doctor's face contorted with confusion and awe, "This was when you started playing with the Time Vortex, becoming the Time Lords you are now. Mutations started happening in our ancestors, different ones. Our powers that we have now, bending the waters, ice, snow, etc. The others weren't too happy with it and so before anything chaotic happened, our ancestors preferred to disband from the Gallifreyans. They found the Monsoon. Able to withstand the temperature, they built a small community where they gradually evolved and perfected their powers with the planet's water, serving as what the tempered schism would be for Time Lords. Centuries later, those ancestors meet Time Lords, also evolved with their regeneration cycles, and together they build an actual city. Despite having evolved they still had the compatible organs and..well...children started popping out," Zohar leaned forwards on the counter with a sly smile, "And that's how your beloved Kaeya came to be. And sure, the Moontsays aren't exactly like you, we don't have two hearts, we don't have a schism or anything like that, heck, most of us can't even trigger our own regenerations...but we were something new, something the world had never seen before."

The Doctor opened his mouth for a moment then shut it and pondered a bit more of everything he'd just heard, "If this is all true-"

"Which it is," Zohar nodded.

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his forehead as he considered this...story, "Why doesn't anyone else know about it? I mean, call me the biggest idiot in the world-"

"Which you are," Zohar said, the Doctor throwing her a mock glare, "Oh come on, here you are, the Oncoming Storm, the most brilliant man in the universe…and you couldn't figure out your past love is actually your current love?" she bit her lip before she laughed again, "The signs were there you just weren't looking!"

"Why didn't any of the Time Lords know about this? Cos the Master, he said something about a myth, something I didn't know about and I was real good at school. Why didn't I know?"

"The ultimate myth of the Moontsays, we can regenerate," Zohar rolled her eyes, thinking so little of the people who'd created those rumors that ultimately got them into more trouble with the Time Lords, "Think about it, Moontsays, while owning Time Lord characteristics, aren't _truly_ Time Lords. We left before the regeneration cycles were completely set in. Some may see us as a quarter of what you are...or... _abominations_ ," she finished quietly, that word still stinging.

The Doctor noticed that too and felt a bit sorry for her. He did recall Kaeya mentioning they were always seen as weak by other species for some reason, the prominent one being his own people, Time Lords. He knew that part was true, he'd heard mostly everyone calling the Moontsays abominations...and now it made sense.

Time Lords were very proud people, mostly all of them. They were practically the overseers of the universe, and to have another species (an evolved species of their own) slowly climbing their way up to their status due to the similar characteristics...well, that wouldn't do. They made it their life's job to keep the Moontsays below them, never to realize their true potential. But, he theorized, the Moontsays must have already figured out their potential, their Moontsay powers combined with a little of a Time Lord could have truly made them powerful, equal if not more than Time Lords...

So the hatred grew from both sides.

Zohar's laughter brought the Doctor out of his thoughts to see the blue light circling the woman, like it was tickling her or something.

"Okay, okay, okay, I get it," Zohar was finally freed from the light, "I'm great, I'm fantastic, I'm...unique," she finished far more confidently than she was five minutes ago.

"What just happened?" he had to ask.

"Kaeya, she reminded me that Moontsays are not abominations. We're completely fantastic and unique," she, again, proudly recited.

"She said that?" he looked at the blue light.

"Of course she did," Zohar sighed, "But, anyways, now for today's problem...regeneration. Did Kaeya ever tell you about her mother's illness?"

"No, she kept that from me," the Doctor shook his head, "But Minerva...well, Kaeya...Minerva," that was going to get confusing fast, "Minerva, um, she was looking into that and found that after the queen miraculously recovered, which wasn't even explained, there were no more pictures of the queen."

"She regenerated," Zohar announced, leaving the Doctor to blink in surprise yet again, "She was able to trigger her regeneration cycle with a lot of trouble. Kaeya was old enough to understand what had happened and so that's when the King and Queen decided to tell her the truth of the Moontsays and their relation to the Time Lords."

"She never told me anything," the Doctor frowned, knowing that the moment Kaeya had learned the truth had to have been a short time after they'd met on the iced lake, "I asked her, but...she never said anything."

"I assume she didn't want to make you feel bad or anything. Or perhaps she just didn't care what her parents had told her. She loved you, and your people, despite their attitude with us. She loved them so much that she endeavored to learn about her ability to regenerate, and who did she go to first?"

"Her mother," the Doctor recalled the vision Minerva had seen when Kaeya had 'died' at the hands of the Master. The last thing Minerva had seen was Kaeya mumbling something about her mother. If the Queen had explained to Kaeya all about regeneration and how she managed to trigger it, Kaeya must have used that in order for her to regenerate the first time.

Zohar nodded, "But when the Queen regenerated, the first Moontsay to have regenerated in centuries, neither she nor the rest of the Louvier's wanted anyone to find out. Gallifrey was already on them for their rising status that if they discovered someone triggered the regeneration cycle..." Zohar looked down, "...chaos, utter chaos, would have emerged."

"You couldn't have known that," the Doctor tried to argue but Zohar snapped right back.

"But the Royal Family wasn't going to take the chance! They had Kaeya, the few of her cousins, potential heirs to the throne, to think about. Not just that, but...they had the entire kingdom to think about. Why provoke people when you can avoid it?"

"The Queen never showed her face for historical writings," the Doctor finally began to understand, "She doesn't get her photo taken, nothing makes it into history books that end up for the world to see. The history of the Monsoon..."

"That was an agreement between the Time Lords and the Moontsays," Zohar explained, "Neither wanted anything to do with each other so they agreed never to reveal how Moontsays came to be. Simple, general details were given, that was all."

"Okay, okay, slowly making more sense now," the Doctor took a breath and glanced at the blue light, "So, Kaeya regenerated, clearly had no idea what she was doing-"

"Oi," Zohar frowned.

"She had no proper guidance on it," the Doctor tried to amend his blunt statement, "And so she regenerated into a child and grew up once more, turned Minerva. Fine, I get that, but what happened? You used a chameleon arch at the same time! That's a _huge_ no-no!"

"You think she didn't know that?" Zohar raised an eyebrow, "She was dying, there was no guarantee that her regeneration would be a success. And look at the results, she was right! If she solely regenerated she would've been a child and...the chameleon arch wouldn't have worked."

"Oh but it worked perfectly now!"

"She knew the risks but to see you again she took them without a doubt!" Zohar snapped and quieted the Doctor down with that statement. She sighed, knowing it wasn't his fault he was reacting this way, she and Kaeya were prepared for something like this, "Look, Time Lords are big on science and logic, that's your thing...but Moontsays are spiritual beings. We evolved to the point that the spirits became our gods and deities. We were spiritual so...Kaeya's family, the Louvier's, they designed a Chameleon Arch to fit the needs of the Moontsay. They were like two big bracelets, only metal and bigger than the average bracelet. Kaeya's necklace acted as your pocket watch would act, it would contain her alien essence. But when she activated it, a part of her essence didn't make into the bracelet, and instead went on to roam the skies without a body, caring after its body for eighteen years in the dark. The part that made it into the necklace, you've met..."

"Not very nice, by the way," the Doctor shook his head, "It hurt Minerva. If it's her necklace isn't it supposed to be kind?"

"This little light you see here is Kaeya's kindness, generosity, caring, and everything else good about her packed into it," Zohar started with that instead.

"So...what part _did_ make it into the necklace?' he raised an eyebrow, sensing he wasn't going to like the answer.

"That's the bad part..."

The Doctor awaited for her to finish but she just stopped, "Yeah, what is it?"

"No, I meant that literally, the _bad_ side of Kaeya, everything dark about her, about Minerva, is locked away in that necklace; nothing but a cold, hard, logical, strategic woman in there."

The Doctor scoffed, "That's a lie, Minerva/Kaeya was not dark!"

Zohar simply smiled at that, "We all have a dark side, Doctor. It's just some of us don't use it or are really good at hiding it."

The Doctor stayed quiet for a moment, conceding on that fact. _He_ was dark and yet he tried everything to forget about it, like the man who had killed all his people, his family, everything had never existed in the first place. He supposed, that after suffering so much, Kaeya had to have changed a bit to protect her home.

"On the last day of Kaeya's life, in her first life," Zohar begun once she saw the Doctor getting lost in thoughts, "She was ordering all Moontsays to fire down any foreign ship we saw in our sky," the Doctor gave her a sharp look, "Doctor, she'd just lost her parents," Zohar explained quietly, sensing his oncoming anger.

At those words, the light sped away from them, moving all the way across them...sadly humming.

The Doctor watched it go with sadness. He knew, that for Kaeya, after everything, her parents were the one thing she cherished most in her planet. It didn't matter if they didn't agree with her on some things, they were her mum and dad...and to lose them...

...it changes people.

"I'd never seen Kaeya like that before, she was so...broken," Zohar continued, her gaze also locked on the light, "Her mother's parents were also reported dead. And then her father's mother was the last to come down, and with no word of her grandfather, Mayar, she thought the worst."

"She felt alone," the Doctor mumbled, knowing that exact feeling all too well.

After hearing of his own family's death, he felt like all he could do was kill every last Dalek he saw in his way, every last enemy...anything. And then he heard of the Moontsay's death, gone to actually see for himself, perhaps find survivors hidden away...hopefully Kaeya...but had found no one.

He felt alone...and like there was no point of continuing in the war.

"The enemies underestimated us, underestimated the last royal Moontsay," Zohar continued, her voice hardening, "They thought Kaeya would just give up our most prize possession, our crystal that could win against an enemy."

* * *

 _On a snowy, windy, Monsoon land, stood several Moontsays and head stood Zohar and Princess Kaeya. The land was just on the outskirts of the kingdom, which was in total ruins, and the soldiers weren't in great conditions either, all tired of having to protect themselves from chaos that wasn't even their fault!_

 _"On my orders," Kaeya warned Zohar, her eyes filled nothing but darkness as she looked up at the sky._

 _Zohar nodded, glancing back at the soldiers, "Await the princess before acting."_

 _"Yes, ma'am," the soldiers replied._

 _Kaeya scanned the area, spotting one ship that was just coming into orbit. But she knew that ship, she had memorized their ships, a Time Lord spaceship._

 _And with all her might and strength..._

 _She raised her left arm, snow lifting off the ground as it followed her movement, and then threw the snow straight for the ship. Zohar and the other soldiers watched in surprise as the snow swirled into one big point, striking the ship down._

 _"Bring down any foreign ship you see," Kaeya ordered them, "Even if it's Time Lords. No one is to get that crystal, that's an order!"_

 _And as more ships started to come in, Kaeya raised her arms, going side to side and up and down, striking every ship with as much snow and ice as she could. But to the side stood Zohar, watching her princess who, as she acted like a cold soldier, had tears in her eyes...for her family._

* * *

Zohar blinked away her tears of that memory, taking a deep breath in before she looked at the Doctor, "The war changed all of us. The Moontsays, specifically, lost nearly all of its people. The ones left were merely several dozens...out of a million," she forcefully paused as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes, "I lost my parents, my brother...everything. I've only got my niece now. But I've changed, I know I have. I've grown darker, yes. Kaeya changed too, of course. But not that much, not like some. She literally gave her last breath protecting that stupid crystal. But towards the very end, when that Time Lord ship came down on its own, Kaeya held onto the hope it was you...finally returning. She'd not seen you for quite some time, heard you had to regenerate after the last incarnation she'd seen from you...she thought it would finally be the new you coming."

"It was the Master," the Doctor mumbled, closing his eyes with guilt.

"She learned that too late," Zohar swallowed hard.

"Why did you go to Earth though?" the Doctor had to ask, "Why not follow the rest of the Moontsays into this planet? Why regenerate in a planet where aliens are not so accepted."

"You really have to ask?" Zohar raised an eyebrow, smiling a bit of amusement, "You really are an idiot," the Doctor frowned but let it slide as he saw her begin to explain, "Kaeya loved Earth and what's more, _you_ loved Earth. She had faith in you, Doctor, faith that you would end the war in some way...and survive. There was a Vortex Manipulator we'd been able to snipe from one of the enemies and we used it to get into the cave Kaeya had, where she'd placed her family's Chameleon Arch tech. We stole it and went to Earth. Kaeya knew that Earth would be her best chance of finding you again, or you finding her. She figured since she'd lost all her family, her kingdom...she could at least find _you_ again," Zohar's amused smile had turned soft, "And she did," she whispered, "Fate wants you two together and you're almost there."

"But we're not," the Doctor sighed, "Because Minerva's unconscious, in a hospital...halfway dead I dare say!"

"No, she's not dying," Zohar bit her lip, "It's the light, it's, um...it's trying to retake its body, like it should have. See, the necklace was supposed to contain all of the alien essence so that when the time came, Minerva would just simply crack that thing open and revert back to her alien self again."

"But why put it back on the Monsoon, then?"

"I wasn't going to leave it in the hands of a human nor a child," Zohar frowned, "The plan was for that human to find you and then _you_ would realize the big coincidences between her and Kaeya and ultimately be tempted to go back to the Monsoon where that human, still bearing her Moontsay prints, would be able to open the cave which by the way _only_ opens for Kaeya...explaining why it so magically opened for you and Minerva."

The Doctor blinked as he recalled that day. They'd thought that the cave had been opening for _him_ when in reality it had been opening for Minerva all along. He should've put it together, when she'd found the secret passage way in the library, when the cave had originally opened outside the iced lake, the hologram had even said it. It wasn't 'her' that had entered the room...it was her human version.

"But since the process went wrong, it's gonna be a bit more complicated," Zohar sighed, "That crystal in Minerva's heart, it's a part of her necklace that was subdued into her skin after regenerating. It would act as her proof of Moontsay heritage, opening the cave and then activating the royal crystal. She's had it her entire life but something triggered it a lot earlier than it should have."

"Lazarus' cabinet," the Doctor whispered, remembering Minerva acting a bit odd after entering the cabinet in which Lazarus had rejuvenated himself in.

"Probably," Zohar shrugged, "It was always going to activate at some point, just at the Monsoon instead."

"So, what happens now?" the Doctor nearly pleaded the answer from her, "I want Minerva to get better, or Kaeya, whatever she wants to call herself when it's over...just tell me how to fix her."

"The necklace, she has to wear it again-"

"No!" the Doctor shouted, "It harmed her-"

"Not anymore, Minerva's already made contact with her true essence, so the necklace won't harm her anymore as it'll think that she's somewhat Moontsay now. The necklace will release only a small amount each day with the help of the now-activated crystal inside Minerva's heart. Minerva is going to start remembering who she really is. She'll understand why the necklace treated her like it did."

"This is so strange," the Doctor rubbed his face with a long sigh.

"Says the man who travels in a blue box that's bigger on the inside and wears suits 24/7," Zohar countered, crossing her arms, earning a mock-glare from him, "Listen, just give Minerva the necklace and you'll see how it won't harm her anymore. If anything, it'll speed up the process."

"And tell me something, what happens after Kaeya comes back? What happens to Minerva? I'd kill her..." he looked down for a moment, his eyes watering up at just the thought of Minerva disappearing from him.

"No, no, nothing would happen to Minerva. Kaeya regenerated, she _is_ Minerva, Minerva is Kaeya. They're the same person," Zohar shrugged, "The only difference now would be she wouldn't be human anymore. For all we know, she might not want to be even called Kaeya anymore."

"How am I going to tell Minerva all this?" the Doctor ran his hands through his hair, taking in a deep breath, "She thinks she's human. An actual, proper human with a human life, human education, human family…"

"It's gonna be hard, I'm not saying it won't be. She'll be confused but not forever. She'll remember that she's Kaeya, princess of the Monsoon."

"But she doesn't know that, I...didn't know that. For us, she's Minerva, the Clever Girl, the sassy human..." the Doctor looked down for a moment, "I love her...and I don't want to hurt her."

"The reason you fell for Minerva was because you'd already fallen for her last incarnation," Zohar softly said, "And that shows you really do love her. This is the second incarnation, a _human_ version at the moment and you still fell in love with her. Describe Minerva for me, please."

"Minerva," he breathed, "I'd love her human or alien. She's a dreamer, she's an adventurer…always craving trip after trip," he started smiling, forgetting what his point even was after he thought more and more on his his Clever Girl, "She wants to see the world and that's exactly what I plan on giving her. She's incredibly kind, sometimes too kind for her own good. And her curiosity, wow…it's so huge!"

"Doctor…" Zohar quietly called, softly smiling, "…don't you see? That woman you described is the woman Kaeya always wanted to be."

The Doctor stiffened as the realization struck him.

"Kaeya always wanted to travel and you and I both know her curiosity was as big the universe. But, she was never impulsive, she never spoke her mind, she stayed quiet and reserved with her kingdom. You just described everything Kaeya wanted to be. You just haven't been paying attention to all the signs."

"What…what am I supposed to do, then?" the Doctor sighed, "She's in a coma, Zohar. She's not reacting to anything…"

"You give her that necklace and if it hurts her then you can personally come back here and punch me in the face," Zohar said.

"Oh believe me, _I'm_ not the one you'll be punched by," the Doctor made a face, "I got two words for you Zohar: Martha Jones."

"Who the hell is that?"

"Minerva's best friend and believe me, she'll stand up for Minerva. After her comes the ginger sister, and she's one ginger you don't want to mess with."

"Fine, I'll deal with both of them if it comes to it," Zohar rolled her eyes, "But you know what, the one thing you and Minerva have had to deal with for a long time will finally be solved."

"What's that?"

"Her lifespan," she whispered, his eyes widening, "You remember, don't you? Kaeya and you seemed to be growing up at the same pace and time. Well, if Minerva puts that necklace and begins the process, she'll definitely get that back," the Doctor was completely silent, "Think about it Doctor: you and Minerva, _forever_ …in your TARDIS, next stop everywhere," Zohar smiled, "You can finally be together, start a family even. Your silly little star-crossed love story would have a happy ending. Doesn't that sound great?"

For a moment, that sounded _amazing..._

…until the Doctor remembered one important fact that apparently Zohar had missed.

"Except…if she reverts back to a Moontsay...earth will be too hot for her... _everything_ will be too hot for her…" he whispered, his hearts breaking with each word he'd spoken.

Zohar bit her lip, recalling that old pesky problem, "…right…"

"That's what happens in the end? Minerva gets stuck on the Monsoon for the rest of her life?" the Doctor bitterly laughed, "Does that sound like a happy ending for either of us?"

" _I_ learned how to adapt in far less colder places than the Monsoon," Zohar began, gesturing to the place they were now in, "The rest of the survivors did too. Who's to say Minerva wouldn't do the same?"

"But that took you centuries to do," the Doctor reminded, his voice still low in a whisper, "She'd have to spend centuries more to learn…to adapt…"

Not only would he be taking Minerva's human life but he'd also be imprisoning her on a cold, practically lifeless, planet for centuries.

His Clever Girl...had to stop traveling for centuries?

~ 0 ~

"Minerva is where!?" Isadora nearly collapsed on the spot after hearing her granddaughter had fallen unconscious, a near coma..

"Mom!" Aaron quickly held her, Cody aiding him too.

"What happened to her?" Nicolas struggled to sit up on his bed. Quite frankly at this moment he'd try jumping out of it and run to go see Minerva...but Martha told him it wouldn't do good for him and since Minerva was still unconscious it wouldn't do anything for her as well.

Martha and Donna stood at the foot of Nicolas's bed, explaining Minerva's condition. The Doctor had been gone for a couple of days now with no word of what had happened. The last thing he told them was to keep an eye on Sophia and make sure she stayed as far away as possible from Minerva. But the days had passed rather slowly and it had become harder for them to hide what was going on from Minerva's family.

So they decided it was bet to just go ahead and tell them.

"We're not sure what happened," Martha also decided to keep away the fact that Minerva might be an actual alien, "She just collapsed after seeing her mom again and-"

"Sophia did this?" Nicolas gritted his teeth, "She didn't tell me she saw Minerva when she came in here. I should've known!"

"We're not sure if it was actually her fault," Martha tried to say but even she was sure Sophia had played a huge role in it.

"But we're pretty sure she did," Donna mumbled.

"Where is she? Where's my granddaughter? I want to see her!" Isadora freed herself from the men's hold and stepped up, "I want to see Minerva now."

"We're not sure if that's a good idea," Martha sighed.

"I know it's a good idea! She needs someone to be with her!"

"I'm sure the Doctor's already there, Mrs. Lozano," Cody said, looking at the women for confirmation.

Donna and Martha exchanged a glance, unsure of what to do on that matter.

"He _is_ there, right?" Aaron caught the looks and became suspicious, "Minerva can't be alone right now."

"He had to step out..." Donna began, "...it was truly important and concerned Minerva."

"Where'd he go?" Nicolas asked.

"Not exactly sure," Martha rubbed her neck, "It's been a couple days and he hasn't called or anything. But I'm sure it's clear that he loves Minerva and wouldn't be away if it wasn't truly important."

On that, everyone had to agree.

"I want to see her," Isadora insisted, keeping a little more calm than earlier, "Please."

Martha nodded, "Okay."

"I can take you if you'd like," Donna offered and Isadora immediately went after the ginger.

"I'm gonna go find Sophia," Aaron muttered and headed for the doors, Cody quickly following.

"That probably won't end good," Nicolas sighed and laid back.

"Yeah..." Martha swayed her head, "...that's too bad...for her," Nicolas let out a small chuckle, making Martha blush at her words, "Mr. Souza, I'm sorry, but...your wife is terrible."

Nicolas raised his hands in utter surrender, 'Not going to defend her at all. I'm no good person either, no better than her."

"You're trying," Martha corrected, "You want to make Minerva happy and that's what counts, that's what makes you a thousand times better than Sophia."

Nicolas sighed, "Still doesn't make me less than a monster for hurting Minerva all her life. I don't deserve the chance she's giving me now..."

Martha could see how genuine the man was being with his words. Unlike Sophia, he seemed guilty of what he'd done to her best friend and wanted to make up for it, make Minerva happy. That alone made Martha content. Minerva was finally receiving something she truly deserved, a parent.

"Could you please let me know how Minerva's doing?" Nicolas broke her thoughts, "I feel rather useless for being stuck in here. Some dad I'm being...again."

Martha smiled and nodded, "Don't you worry, I'll go give her another check up and come straight back here."

"Thank you," Nicolas said, watching her walk out of the room.

As soon as Martha left the room, she bumped into the Doctor who wore a face that was not one you wanted to cross.

"Doctor! What's happened!?" Martha exclaimed, "Where'd you go!?"

"It's not a coma," he turned her around and walked down in a new hallway.

"It's not?" Martha raised an eyebrow, noticing how low he was talking all of a sudden, "What do you mean?"

"It's not a coma, Minerva's not in coma. It was a reset button."

Zohar had told the Doctor before leaving the 'coma' state Minerva had fallen into was due to a burst of emotions (Sophia's reappearance being the last straw poor Minerva could handle) that had finally paved the way for the process to begin...the process that would restore her memories and identity.

"A...what?"

"Martha," he stopped and set his hands on her shoulders, "You're going to need to brace yourself for this."

"Why?"

"...blimey there is just no easy way to say this," he was really considering every possible word he could use to make it less troublesome than it really was.

But there was only one way he could say it...

"Minerva is Kaeya."

Martha made a distasteful face at him, laughing at such an absurdity. She waited for him to join in on the laugh but realized she was the only one laughing and he was just staring at her with one of those looks that made you realize he was actually being dead serious, "Doctor, c'mon," Martha's smile faded, actually turning a bit mad, "Are you really going to use that on me? Minerva is my best friend and I will not stand a lie in a moment like this. Now, you are going to tell me what exactly is wrong with her-"

"I'm being serious, Martha Jones. This is about Minerva and you know I would _never_ make something up like this if it concerned her," he swallowed hard, still unable to accept it himself, "Minerva Souza...is the second incarnation of Kaeya, princess of the Silver Monsoon."

Martha raised an eyebrow, "No. She's not."

"I mean it! She's Kaeya. Look, just hear me out," the Doctor motioned for her to keep quiet so he could explain, "Moontsays can _regenerate_. Kaeya figured it out and did it and turned into a toddler which Sophia Souza found in 1990. She did a chameleon arch but it went wrong and it accidentally split Kaeya's alien essence into two parts. One part is the dark side of her, currently locked away in the necklace. The other part is that blue light that's been following us for some time now."

"This is just..." Martha shook her head, "...not possible."

"And yet here we are," the Doctor ran a hand through his hair, "So now I've gotta restore Minerva's real identity."

"What? You mean like bring back Kaeya? But what about Minerva!? What happens to her!?" Martha cried, already frantically thinking of everything that could go wrong like it did with John Smith.

"I don't know because the process didn't go correctly," the Doctor admitted, earning a very sharp look from Martha, "But if I don't do something then Minerva will die as a human, or worse, from her Moontsay genes. Remember? Moontsays can't survive if they're not in the Monsoon..."

"So what are we going to do with Minerva right now?"

"I need more information about this, I've got two more people on my list before I can get back to Minerva," he moved past Martha.

"Where are you going!?" Martha called after him.

"I've gotta talk to someone. Be a dear and fill Donna in, will you?" he looked back, "But don't tell Isadora or Aaron what's really going on."

Martha sighed and nodded, turning to go back to her best friend...

...who had also turned out to be a Moon princess?

Oh Lord that was going to be a tricky thing to explain to Donna.

~ 0 ~

Zohar sat inside her bedroom, on the foot on her bed, her foot endlessly tapping on the hard iced floor underneath it. To say she nervous was an understatement. The Doctor now knew the truth about the Moontsays…but she failed to mention the possible fate Minerva now had.

Minerva would have to endure a process that would make her suffer. The Chameleon Arch had messed up rather badly and now Minerva's body and mind would have to take in traits of her Moontsay heritage and try to exchange them for her human traits. It would be like a whole jigsaw puzzle, putting in pieces here and there, choosing traits from either her alien or human side.

But, at the end of the process, her body would not be able to withstand all her powers, memories and pain coming back...so...ultimately...

She would have to trigger her regeneration again.

~ 0 ~

"You knew all this time and you never said," the Doctor barged into Nicolas's room, indecisive whether or not he should be angry with the man for keeping such a great secret from Minerva or understandable that he probably hadn't gotten to explaining that part to Minerva now that they were building a good relationship.

"About what?" Nicolas asked, sitting up on his bed, "And when did you get back? Martha said you'd been gone for days-"

The Doctor closed the door of the room and locked it before moving up to the bed, "Minerva isn't your daughter. She's not even human."

Nicolas blinked, "You...you know?"

"Had a chat with one of her friends, you know, alien friends...because she's an alien!"

Nicolas looked to the side for the moment, "Is that why she fell ill? Because it's finally breaking through?"

"You knew," the Doctor repeated, giving him such a shameful look.

"Yes, I did," Nicolas looked back at him, "What about it?"

"You never said anything!"

"You tell me how am I supposed to tell a five year old, a ten year old, an eighteen year old that the life she's lived is not hers? That she's not of this world and I am not her father."

"Well, I think in retrospect, after the crappy life you and Sophia gave her it probably wouldn't have been as bad," the Doctor snapped.

"Alright, I'll concede you that point," Nicolas sighed.

"That's why you gave her the life she lived. Sophia was terrified of who Minerva really was and so sought to keep her down," the Doctor gritted his teeth, the anger pouring out as he recalled every blasted story Minerva told him about her sad childhood, "She thought Minerva would turn out to be evil and kill everyone! That's why she thinks Minerva killed Olivia, because she's 'alien' with powers controlled by emotions."

"It wasn't always like that," Nicolas spoke quietly, "When Sophia found the toddler, identified as Minerva by the other woman that was with them, Sophia was happier than ever. After Olivia was born, we found out she couldn't have anymore children and that tore her apart. So, when Sophia was tasked with the toddler, she brought Minerva home. She was so defenseless, so...scared. Minerva was one year old, and she acted so human that we thought..."

"You could raise her as your own," the Doctor finished for him, still giving him a hard look, "And yet that's not what happened, is it? You gave preference to Olivia. You pushed Minerva so down that she _emancipated_ herself from you both."

"It wasn't always like that," Nicolas repeated, still clinging to the original idea he and Sophia had when they first had Minerva, "We wanted Minerva, we wanted another baby...so we took Minerva in. And for the first couple of years, it seemed fine. She wasn't growing two heads or turning blue or something...but there were times where inexplicable things happened around us," Nicolas paused, recalling some of those times that truly left him terrified for days, "There were nights here we could hear a faint humming noise...like, a person was singing Minerva to sleep. And when we checked up on her, the room was always glowing blue for some reason...and it was _cold_. So cold that we couldn't physically step inside!"

"I've got news for you," the Doctor moved beside him, "Where Minerva's from, her true planet, it's absolute ice and snow. She's of the cold and that light you saw, that was no monster...that was the woman Sophia saw in the alley looking over her human version, protecting her."

The Doctor had only made that realization a couple minutes ago. He had pondered of that blue light ever since he left Zohar's shop. How it had been following them, even saving people. It was Kaeya, Minerva's true essence, looking out for her and the people around her. He could see it now, how divided the essence was. The necklace bore all the cold, darkness Kaeya held within her heart. It erased Minerva's memory to avoid a weakness...a heartbreak. It saved Minerva and Ross, protected her and who knows what else. It had even tried reconnecting with Minerva in Japan but failed to do so as Minerva was simply not compatible yet. He supposed the baby version of her had needed the cold as a Moontsay child would've until it started growing up and becoming more and more human, also part of the Chameleon Arch going wrong. It didn't even make her completely human!

"I didn't know, Doctor," Nicolas shook her head, "But...it did things to us, to Sophia and I. It affected us differently. I grew afraid of Minerva truthfully, but I didn't lash out like Sophia did. I preferred to stay away from her, lock myself in a different room. Over time, though, it did consume me with guilt. Sometimes, I can still hear how her little self, just six years old, would ask if I wanted to fly a kite and I would flat out say 'no'. Sometimes I could hear her crying in her room because she was alone, and it broke my heart."

"And yet you did _nothing_ ," the Doctor spat, practically fuming. He'd heard those stories from Minerva and he would have to hold her at times because she would end up crying there and then after telling the stories..

Nicolas agreed, "I accept my fault."

"And Sophia did the opposite. She blamed, she cursed, she did everything in her power to harm Minerva. I'm surprised she didn't beat her. Of course if she had I couldn't guarantee Sophia would live past today."

And he was quite sure of it too.

"Sophia believed Minerva could harm us and the people around us so she set out to keep Minerva from realizing her potential. And after Olivia had that accident, well...things fell into place. Sophia was, and _is,_ sure that Minerva's emotions caused Olivia to die. That she had powers or something..."

"She doesn't have powers," the Doctor snapped, "She's human! She was always human, you idiots! Right now, right _now_ , is when she's starting to revert back to her original self. But even after this, I can guarantee you she wouldn't hurt a fly. Just tell me something because I don't understand it yet...you took Minerva in, and to the law, she is biologically your daughter. She even has a birth certificate, clearly fake of course."

He'd done a quick scan of 'Minerva Souza' in the TARDIS before returning to the hospital and found all the paperwork a human would need to live a full, legal life on Earth. Everything he could think of was there...even the hospital records, and those were all wrong. Donna had been right, her records were entire screwed up if someone truly looked into it like she and her friends had.

"We're lawyers, it's not that hard," Nicolas sighed, "There are some friends in this hospital who were gracious enough to keep our secret and help us out with anything we needed: birth certificate, vaccinations records, medical records, everything."

"So her blood, because it marks as 'unknown'," the Doctor began, already knowing the answer.

"They made it identify as O- for us," Nicolas replied.

"And this is the only hospital, only doctors she's ever had?"

"Yes."

The Doctor sighed deeply, really wanting to pull out his own hair at all this information. And that was something he'd never ever do, it was really good hair! But this was about Minerva and he'd do anything for her. And right now, she was in a coma which wasn't a coma because in reality it was just her body's way of preparing her to start regaining her true identity.

"What's going on with Minerva?" Nicolas asked.

"She's...reverting back to who she really is," the Doctor answered, too jumbled up to keep his anger in point.

"And who is she in reality?"

"A...princess."

Nicolas smiled at that, "She deserves to be a princess."

"She deserved so much better than all this," the Doctor whispered and walked out.

Kaeya hadn't deserved her fate, she and her family hadn't deserved to die in a war they had no business being in. She didn't deserve to lose everything and then force herself into hiding. Minerva didn't deserve the family she ended up in, their cold treatment. She didn't deserve such a crappy life, two lives that were just...no good.

~ 0 ~

 _Hours Later..._

The Doctor was making his way towards Minerva's room, trying to keep himself calm of what he was going to need to do in a few moments. He stopped at the turn of the hallway when he heard two voices arguing.

"Would you just let me in?" a woman was ordering.

"No, I will _not_ let you in," a second woman snapped back.

The Doctor poked his head out and saw a woman with shiny black hair that was in soft curls, hanging above her shoulders, glaring at another person...in front of Minerva's room's doorway. She had scary, blue eyes that looked as if glaring were its natural appearance. She was pretty tall too and had a nice body. But he disliked her right from the beginning, no good looks would ever sway him to think otherwise of her...because he knew that woman straight away.

Marisol Souza.

"I'm her cousin you idiot, now let me in!" Marisol shouted, trying to force her way into the room only to be pushed back against the wall by the second woman.

"I don't give a damn what you are, biologically, to Minerva! You're a rotten woman with no business being in here!" the second woman snapped at Marisol, keeping her two hands on the threshold, blocking the entrance of Minerva's room with her body.

The Doctor emerged from the hallway and headed towards them.

"You have no right keeping me out!" Marisol continued shouting, stepping off the wall.

"I can, actually. For starters, Minerva hates you!"

"Well, I can't disagree with you there," the Doctor spoke up, cutting into their argument, "Marisol Souza, Minerva does not like you and you are a very awful person. Leave now."

Marisol seemed a bit distracted from the order as she took in the Doctor's appearance, "And you are..." she raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh," the second woman rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Get out!"

"Let me guess," Marisol moved up to the Doctor, ignoring the glares the other woman was giving her, "You're my little cousin's boyfriend," she bit her lip, "Good taste, I'll give her that. Although you are one she so does not deserve," she looked him over.

"On the contrary, _I_ don't deserve _her_. Minerva's too good of a woman for a man like me," the Doctor stepped away from her.

"Oh please, that brat? She's too much of a little girl. But _me_ on the other hand..." she moved towards him again with a flirty smile.

And then the second woman pushed her to the side, "Get away from him!"

Marisol threw her a dark glare, marching straight for her, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Stacey Donovan and close friend of Minerva," the woman replied, her arms on the threshold again to block Marisol's way. She leaned forwards, "And now I suggest you get the hell out of here because that man," she nodded to the Doctor who was staring in surprise at her, "Has no interest in you whatsoever. He doesn't like dirty rats. BYE."

"My aunt Sophia is going to learn about this," Marisol spat before looking at the Doctor again, "And we'll see each other again. Perhaps somewhere just the two of us..." she winked.

"Not even in your dreams," he turned to Stacey instead.

Marisol huffed and stormed off.

Stacey watched her go into the elevator and finally stopped blocking the way into Minerva's room. She let out a deep sigh, "Thank the Lord she is gone."

"You're Stacey?" the Doctor raised an eye brow, looking her over, " _Stacey Donovan_?"

Stacey, in comparison to Marisol, was rather short...probably Minerva's height. She had golden-brown hair that swirled into curls as it hung over her chest. She had chocolate brown eyes and pink lips, a rather innocent look in her that Minerva also wore. But it seemed like she had a hidden attitude that you did not want to cross, as the Doctor had just witnessed with her and Marisol.

Stacey grinned immediately and turned to him, "Yup! That's me! And let me guess, John? Or the Doctor? Mom told me the whole situation about our nosy neighborhood with the man in the pinstriped suit," Stacey laughed.

The Doctor chuckled, "It's nice to meet you, really."

"If only they were under different circumstances, right?" she sighed, "I just got into the city this morning and my mother told me what happened. Isadora called in the morning... so, I rushed down here only to find wicked Marisol trying to get into the room. So I said, no way in the hell was she ever going to do that."

"Did I mention I really like you?" the Doctor asked, feeling much better knowing that apart from Martha and Donna, Minerva would have a third friend looking out for her.

"I totally like you too, in a platonic way though," she quickly clarified, "Because friend's boyfriends are definitely off limits. Plus, you're not my type."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Blimey, you sure talk fast..."

She grinned, "Yeah, I want to be a lawyer, believe it or not. My mom says I got the speaking skills so good that no one will ever get to put in even a word to defend their case."

For the first time in days, the Doctor actually laughed a little. He could see why Minerva would be friends with Stacey. The woman could put you in a good mood quite fast.

"I'll have a 100% win streak," Stacey smirked.

"Yes, definitely like you," the Doctor concluded.

"Great, because friends are supposed to get along with friend's boyfriends. Now, I assume you came to see Minerva?"

Yes," the Doctor nodded.

"Come on in, you're definitely allowed in here," Stacey headed inside Minerva's room.

"As are you," the Doctor went straight for Minerva's side, sighing at the sight of her sleeping and sleeping, "Hello my Clever Girl," he kissed her forehead and sat down.

"Dr. Jones says she's been like this for about a week now?" Stacey moved to the opposite side of Minerva's bed.

"Yeah..."

"And what caused it? She didn't say that exactly. Actually, it sounded more like she was trying to avoid the answer."

"Just...something, I suppose," the Doctor wasn't really focusing on Stacey anymore. He was staring at Minerva, wishing he could fix her and get her to wake up. But that was something Zohar hadn't mentioned...when exactly Minerva would be waking up to begin that process.

"I just find it very odd," Stacey sighed, "Minerva was always a healthy kid. I remember she used to literally grab my plate of cookies and scold me like a mother would because I didn't eat healthy enough."

The Doctor smiled, trying picture Minerva as a sassy little six year old wagging her finger like a grown up. He wished she would do that right now, to anyone even him. Just as long as she woke up and was fine, she could do anything she wanted. Heck, he'd even take her to see Leonardo Da Vinci!

"I don't understand how she could have fallen ill like this," Stacey continued, oblivious that the man wasn't paying much attention to her words, "I mean, I know all sorts of illnesses that start with a faint or something, but she shows no symptoms that I can see are bad, so..." she sighed, the Doctor looked up at her and felt a bit guilty that he wasn't telling her the truth.

He didn't know why but...Stacey made him _want_ to tell her the truth.

Perhaps it was because of how she defended Minerva a couple minutes ago from Marisol...or...maybe because throughout Minerva's childhood, Stacey was the only good friend that she had and actually made Minerva feel _happy_ , apart from her grandparents. And now, even after the way Minerva had left, Stacey showed genuine care and concern for Minerva.

"Stacey, how well do you know Minerva?" he asked, sitting up straight yet still holding Minerva's hand in his.

"Like a sister," Stacey shrugged, staring at Minerva, "Minerva's parents didn't really like me because they thought I was a bad influence on her but her grandparents thought otherwise so when Minerva stayed in the neighborhood they allowed us to play together. We grew up with each other, told each other all our secrets," she started smiling, "We had the best of times together despite her complicated life," she looked at him suddenly, biting her lip nervously, "Does she mention me anymore?"

The Doctor smiled softly and nodded, "Yes, she does. She's told me all about you and she couldn't wait to see you again, actually."

"She didn't forget me," Stacey mumbled to herself, feeling ecstatic that Minerva hadn't tried to forget her like she probably tried with her parents.

"Minerva doesn't forget the good people in her life," the Doctor said, getting Stacey's attention again, "And, because you were so good to her as you are now, I'm going to trust you with a task."

"What kind of task?"

"I'm going to need you, Minerva's ginger sister and best friend to look after her for a while."

Stacey raised an eyebrow, intrigued at the task and at the man's sorrowful expression on his face.

~ 0 ~

"Now, I have to go for a little bit but I promise I will be right back," the Doctor was telling Minerva in a quiet voice.

They were still in the same room, only an hour passing after he'd spoken to Stacey. She returned home to get unpacked, seeing she would be spending some time in the neighborhood again. Isadora had returned to Nicolas, a bit concerned now that she knew her son had gone after Sophia. But the Doctor didn't care, nor did Martha or Donna. The trio despised Sophia and hoped Aaron would give her a scolding of a life time, even though that wouldn't make anything up.

"Where are you going, exactly?" Donna asked, she and Martha standing at the foot of Minerva's bed.

"I need to talk to some people," he replied, "I've gotta find Mayar, tell him his granddaughter actually survived. Then I gotta go talk with Zohar again, talk to the survivors of the Monsoon there, let them know what's going on and...I don't know, just get some help," he sighed and shook his head, "I don't know how to help a woman who wasn't supposed to regenerate or use a chameleon arch or...just be a human. I need the story, the full story of the Monsoon so that when she starts the process, I can help her through it all."

"How long is that going to take?" Martha asked, catching on that he was saying goodbye to Minerva moments ago.

"I don't know. So that's why I'm going to need you and Donna to take good care of her," he looked back at them, "Please, don't let her out of your sight for a moment. And answer any of Stacey Donovan's questions about this, alright?"

"Are you sure telling Stacey everything was a good call?" Donna asked, still uneasy about the whole thing.

The Doctor had went ahead and revealed who he really was to Stacey Donovan, telling her about where Minerva had actually been for several years now and what was really going on. But he had also told her about the situation that Minerva was now in. Surprisingly, Stacey had reacted pretty calm about it. She just said she always knew there was something "extra" about Minerva. Plus, she'd seen a...blue light...several times following her and Minerva as kids.

"Stacey Donovan is the only women of Minerva's age that lives in the neighborhood and we can actually trust," the Doctor explained, "We need an insight in Minerva's life and Stacey is the only one that could tell us anything in an unbiased way. Because let's face it, Isadora would never tell us how cruel Sophia was. Nicolas is too ashamed. Aaron wasn't always there. Minerva probably wouldn't like to relive it. So, Stacey is the way to go. So please, get along with her and work together to keep Minerva alright while I'm gone. Please?" he looked at both woman with a pleading look.

Both women nodded, "She's my sister," Donna reminded.

"And my best friend," Martha added.

"We won't let anyone hurt her," Donna assured.

"Thank you," he looked back to Minerva, reaching inside his coat's pocket and taking out her small white, teddy bear and placed it beside Minerva, "My replacement for the meantime," he smiled sadly, "But I promise you I won't be gone for too long. And I swear I will get you the help you need. You'll see," he stroked a bit of her hair and reached up to kiss her forehead, "I love you my Clever Girl."

He stood up and turned to face the women, "Anything happens, your phone is still with me," he told Martha, "And I will carry it wherever I go and answer on the first ring. Now, you call me if she gets into trouble or just...needs me."

"We will," both answered.

"What exactly do we tell her when she wakes up?" Donna asked.

"Give her an excuse for me, but don't tell her what's going on. _I_ need to know what's going on first before I can explain it."

He looked back at Minerva one more time before forcing himself to walk out and begin his quest.

~ 0 ~

Stacey was on her laptop, in Minerva's hospital room, sat on the small cough against the wall off to the side of Minerva's bed. She and Donna were currently taking the afternoon shift to look after Minerva should she actually wake up. Isadora would be coming in at any moment to replace them. Donna had stepped out to use the restroom and grab a couple snacks for them.

It had been only a day after the Doctor had left Minerva in their case and Stacey was determined to prove herself useful to the man and group. Yes, it wasn't very common to learn that your childhood sister's boyfriend was in reality an alien and much less to learn that the childhood friend was also an alien. She wasn't afraid though, no. Why should she be? Minerva was always so kind even when she had lousy parents. Minerva could've lashed out at any moment in their childhood and she never did. She just wanted to help Minerva in any way possible. So, Stacey sought out to learn everything she could about double-personalities and identity crisis stories. Anything to help.

"St...mo...co-col..."

Stacey froze in place upon hearing low murmurs, her eyes wandering to Minerva.

"sto...nomo...wa..." Minerva's finger's started twitching, "...wm...cl..."

"Is she waking up?" Stacey asked as she jumped to her feet just as Donna had entered the room with two coffee cups, "Donna! She's waking up!"

"What?" Donna quickly left the coffee cups on a table and rushed to Minerva's side.

"Still...col...sto..." Minerva took a deep breath, her eyes still closed but her now her hands were beginning to move.

"Minerva, can you hear us?" Donna quietly asked, unsure if she should try to move her a bit.

"Stop..." Minerva murmured, her head turning slowly side to side, "...com...col...com..."

"What is she saying?" Stacey frowned, coming up beside Donna.

"...back...com..."

"I'm going to call Martha," Donna said and Stacey nodded, "Keep an eye on her."

Stacey moved to Donna's place as the ginger rushed out of the room, "Minerva? What are you saying, girl?"

"...co...bck...com..."

"Come back?" Stacey blinked, surprised she'd actually put together words, she only hoped she had understood, "What needs to come back?"

"...col..."

"What's going on?" Isadora entered the room. She had just bumped into Donna and the ginger couldn't seem to create a coherent sentence to her. She'd only said 'Minerva' and dashed off, hollering for Martha. Isadora had then quickly made her way towards her granddaughter's room to see what was happening.

"It's Minerva, we think she's waking up," Stacey gestured.

"Minerva? Sweetheart?" Isadora rushed to the opposite side of the bed, "Minerva? Honey, wake up!"

"Cols...col...cold..." Minerva's eyes seemed to be struggling to open up, thankfully though it seemed like her voice was getting stronger, "...come..."

"What is she talking about?" Isadora asked Stacey.

Stacey shrugged. Isadora, like the rest of her family save Nicolas and Sophia, didn't know of Minerva's true nature and Stacey wouldn't say anything until the others decided to.

Isadora sighed and gently shook Minerva, "Sweetheart, wake up, will you?"

"Mom?" Aaron poked his head inside the room, "Are you in here?"

"Aaron, quick, she's waking up!" Isadora exclaimed, Aaron quickly running inside and beside his mother, "But she won't open her eyes!"

"Minerva? C'mon now, you've had enough sleepy time," Aaron spoke to Minerva, "Wake up!"

"Everyone move aside!" Martha ran inside the room, Donna right behind her. Everyone stepped back while Martha checked Minerva's vitals, "Everything is normal," she declared a couple moments later, "But Minerva, I'm going to need you to wake up already."

"Come back...col...the cold..." she whispered.

"What?" Martha frowned.

Minerva's eyes snapped open, staring straight across. Everyone gasped at the sight of the icy blue eyes she bore. But as she blinked and looked around, the blue tinge started fading away to reveal her usual jade-green eyes.

"Minerva, do you know where you are right now?" Martha asked slowly, sensing something wasn't right by the way Minerva looked at everyone.

"Sweetheart?" Isadora said nervously, also sensing something else was wrong.

"Minerva?" Martha put a hand on Minerva's shoulder.

Minerva flinched and stared at Martha with wide eyes, "...who are you?"

Martha stepped back, a bit confused by the question, "Excuse me?"

Minerva looked at everyone else in the room, "Who are you?" she asked them all, "Who am I?" she looked at her hands, flexing them for a moment. She saw a white teddy bear beside her, holding a small lantern in its paws and suddenly felt a ping in her heart. She took a look around the room rather fiercely, "...someone's missing."

"Minerva..." Martha studied the woman for a moment. Minerva looked at her again, studying Martha from head to toe.

"Martha, what's going on?" Donna whispered to her.

"I think...I think she doesn't remember," Martha stepped towards Minerva again, "I'm sorry, do you know who I am?"

"A doctor," Minerva answered.

"Okay, fine, but I meant my name. Do you know my name?"

Minerva pondered for a moment and gasped lightly, "...I don't know _my_ name."

Martha blinked, "Um, you don't?"

Minerva shook her head, "No. I don't remember...I don't remember why I'm here, who you are...or what's my name...I don't know..." she breathed heavily as she made those realizations.

Martha looked back at the rest with a highly concerned face, something everyone else equally shared.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! First of all, I apologize for the long wait in updating aspects. First, it was with my school and then these last couple of days with the site being down. But heads up, this semester seems to be full of essays and presentations (ignore my violent sobs that continued for 2 weeks since the last update) so updates may slow down.

BUT because of the long two weeks of no updates, I've decided to leave a little treat at the end of this author's note...check it out ;)

Now continuing on with this chapter, hope everything made some sense. I disregarded couple facts here and there simply because it _is_ a story and plus I did read somewhere that Time Lords did have subspecies roaming around on Gallifrey. So I figured why not explore into that? So, Minerva is Kaeya, Kaeya is Minerva...oh dear, the story takes interesting perspectives continuing on from here and out, the Unicorn & the Wasp chapter being important for Minerva and River Song...yikes!

 _For Reviews:_

(This was for a previous review during the 2-week gap) Up to this point, Mayar does know that some of his people did survive on another planet but just not to the fullest extent. As for Zohar and the other Moontsays, they're not entirely informed of Mayar's existence, but starting from the next chapter they'll know.

(Also from a previous chapter, a guest reviewer): Yes, there is a third installment of this story lol You'll be seeing 11 sometime this year :) And thank you for your comments! I love to know people like what I write!

 _Reviews from last chapter:_

Well, Minerva's definitely woken up now, don't know about her comments on the delicate topic seeing as she can't even remember her own name at the moment. While I think she'll be more than shocked to hear her true identity I don't think it'd be as bad since she'll start remembering who she was and the reasons why she did what she did, there'll be some fears for her of course. Yeah, the rejoining part is going to be chaotic and emotional...but you'll have to wait and see when and how that happens. Although we got a little foreshadowing from lovely Zohar on that matter .-.

Haaa I see what you did there, using the Doctor's words on me. Perfect choice of words, actually lol. And, yes, I think I just did that, sorry! I updated now, hope you liked it!

You know what they say, patience is key. Aww, thank you! Oh, Rose...she'll be interesting to see lmao. And River? Well, she'll be much more interesting than Rose I can tell you that! ;) Hopefully I can continue garnering your attention with them!

Right? Suddenly all the little things make sense now xD

The thawing definitely happened, lol. Oh, don't worry, we'll be seeing Jenny later on in the story...during a very important time for the Doctor, actually. So no worries there! And yeah, I get you. Ironically, Sophia paved the way for Minerva to break through the Arch. Yup, the Moontsays are subspecies of the Time Lords so naturally they have similarities. Sophia seems to ignore her part in Olivia's death tsk tsk.

Alright, so now here's my small treat for you all...a small preview of my _first_ DW OC that's being edited for the publish:

* * *

 _"Okay, I'm done," Grier called as she stepped inside the console, sporting a new, modern outfit fit for the 21st century._

 _"Finally," the Doctor grumbled, having been irritated for spending a good hour waiting for her to get changed._

 _"Please don't laugh," Grier warned, hiding behind the rotor on the console._

 _"I promise I won't," he assured, trying to get a look at her but she kept moving around the console, not allowing it._

 _"Please, don't," Grier insisted, continuing her round around the console, "I've never actually worn anything outside the 16th century fashion. It's a tad revealing, what am I saying tad, I'm showing my LEGS!"_

 _He stopped and laughed, "Don't worry, everyone shows their legs nowadays."_

 _"There has to be more to these dresses, though."_

 _"Mm, not really," he leaned to the side, just barley getting the glimpse of a white dress._

 _"There should be!"_

 _"C'mon, Grier, it'll be fine."_

 _He heard a sigh in defeat and a couple seconds after, the brunette reluctantly walked around and showed him her clothes._

 _Grier wore a white, red flowered patterned, dress that reached just above her knees with dark brown, knee length boots. A light blue, jean, jacket with three-quarter sleeves was over her dress, left open. Her hair was finally let down to its natural length, below her shoulders, and curly._

 _Overall, she looked lovely._

 _"Wow..." the Doctor breathed, no other words coming to mind for the moment_

* * *

Now if there are any comments about this be kind...this is my baby, after all. I have a soft spot for her, alright? I published Minerva's story first because I felt more confident about that one at the moment. But Grier's my first OC and is being worked on for a publish later on :) Oh, and by the way, her name is pronounced 'GrEEr', I just liked the other spelling better :)

So I leave you with this and can't wait to hear your comments! Until next time :)


	14. The Lost Moon Child

_**Year 1990...**_

A young, blonde little girl sat in the front garden of her very large house playing Jenga. She had a very large stack of the wooden boards and was currently trying to take out one of them without ruining the stack.

"Olivia!" she heard her mother call.

Young Olivia Souza looked up from her game to see her mother walking through the front gate...holding a _toddler_ in her arm, "Mom...why do you have a..."

"Here, watch her," Sophia Souza placed the toddler down on the grass beside Olivia.

"But Mom, who is she?" Olivia stared at the baby in awe.

"She's, well...she's your new baby sister."

"What? You bought a baby!?" Olivia looked up at her mother with wide eyes, "Can you do that!?"

"Well, yes, when you're a lawyer," Sophia mumbled as she fixed her professional suit, "Now please, watch her. I have to go prepare the staff for the new arrival. I mean it Liv, watch her. She's your sister now," with that, Sophia walked for the front doors of the house.

Olivia stared at the baby again and tilted her head. The toddler had her hand inside her mouth when she turned to see the Jenga stack in front of her. With a loud giggle, she got on her hands and knees and crawled up to it.

"No, baby!" Olivia exclaimed when the toddler waved her hand in front of the wooden bricks. But the toddler just giggled excitedly and whacked the wooden game down, "No, baby! Don't do that, no!"

Olivia sighed as she took hold of the toddler's hand, seeing her game destroyed on the floor. She had literally worked for an hour on the game and now this stranger toddler came in and whacked it down. For eight years no one had ever ruined her things or games. She'd been an only child and now she suddenly had a little sister?

The toddler patted the floor and turned to Olivia, crawling up to her. She giggled and reached for Olivia's hand. She used it to crawl herself onto Olivia's lap and laughed excitedly.

Olivia let a small smile escape from her mouth, "Well...I guess you're kinda cute..."

The toddler was a little baby girl with short, semi-wavy, brown hair with one small pony tail on the top of her head. She had deep, jade-green eyes and chubby cheeks. She wore pink corduroys with a short-sleeved, white shirt underneath and black shoes.

"Okay," Olivia sighed lightly, "You can be my sister...but stop knocking down my game!" the toddler just clapped and squealed, making Olivia smile, "Okay fine, you can play too," she reached for the game and started setting it up with the toddler on her lap.

From afar, the Doctor had watched the two Souza siblings meet and smiled. That definitely didn't seem like a bad older sister. He supposed he'd have to keep going to see what happened...

 _ **Year 1991...**_

The Doctor stepped inside a purple nursery room and quietly closed the door. It was dark out and only a shadow through the window cast through the room. He cautiously walked up to the crib, thinking he'd see a _sleeping_ toddler...

The toddler was trying to reach up to the moving mobile over her crib while she laid flat on her back.

"Well, guess you haven't acquired that crazy sleeping trait, huh?" the Doctor smiled, reaching down to tickle the toddler's stomach. She giggled and tried reaching up for him instead, "Can't deny you anything even when you're just a little toddler," with a small sigh, the Doctor reached down and picked up the toddler in his arms, "You know, your adoptive mother isn't a very good one, is she? You're supposed to leave a night light in the room because the dark scares babies," he looked at the moving mobile that still seemed to garner some of the toddler's attention, "And they're supposed to get rid of the toys inside the crib," he peeked at the crib and sure enough were small toys inside, "It's like Sophia is asking to be yelled at."

He threw out all the toys inside the crib and made sure there was nothing left inside but a blanket and a pacifier. When he looked back at the toddler in his arms he found she was busy chewing on the tip of his tie, "Okay, that's a new one," he carefully took the tie from her mouth and gave her the pacifier instead, "Teething isn't fun, I hear," he stroked a bit of her hair, hearing the little teething sounds she made on the pacifier, "How's about a distraction, eh?"

He pulled out his screwdriver and pointed it at the hanging mobile, projecting the plastic stars all around the room into a more realistic appearance of stars. The baby immediately looked at all the intricate shapes around her that even glowed a little. She held up her small hands and opened and closed it repeatedly, as if trying to hold the moving shapes.

"I think if our daughters turned out to be exactly like you, they'll be quite adorable," he whispered, thinking back to the present where his Clever Girl was, "You know, one day, you're going to grow up into such a beautiful woman..." the Doctor began, looking at all the stars as well, "...and you're going to lose that curly hair you got going on. Your eyes are going to get even deeper and more...complex," he sighed, "You're going to meet this crazy man, and he's going to be rather stupid for a while until he realizes that he actually harbors some feelings for you. And you know what? Then, he's going to show you all those stars," he pointed to several of the stars in front of them, "He's going to take you to see each and every last star you want to see," he looked down to see the toddler was looking at him with half-open eyes. He softly smiled and pushed some hair out of her face, "And you are going to be wonderful, Minerva Souza. Just wonderful," he kissed her head and picked up the white blanket. He set young Minerva down in the crib and covered her up with the blanket.

He smiled once more then walked for the door. Suddenly, he heard the door knob fiddle and dashed to the bathroom inside the room. Olivia Souza walked inside, yawning, while carrying a pillow, blanket and a small blue teething ring.

"Hello, baby," she whispered and let her pillow and blanket drop on the floor beside the crib. She peered down and saw her sister sleeping soundly, "Okay, sorry," she whispered and put a finger on her lips. She laid the teething ring on the edge of the crib where Minerva's feet were, "I really want you to stop chewing on my toys so I bought you this. Grandma said you might prefer it instead of my toys," she sat on the floor beside the crib and set her pillow down before laying down as well, "Mom forgot to buy your night light again so I'll stay until she does buy one."

The Doctor peered out from the bathroom door to see Olivia drifting off to sleep on the floor. He walked out again and smiled, that still didn't seem like a bad older sister.

 _ **Year 1994...**_

A bright, five-year old Minerva Souza ran down the front garden of her grandparent's, chasing a big, pink, plastic ball, "Come back, ball!" she laughed when it slipped from her again, it was much bigger than she was!

"Joyce, I don't want to play anymore," Olivia rubbed her arm and plopped down on the front steps of her grandparent's porch.

"Aw c'mon, Liv, play again!" Minerva spun around to her big sister, her brown, straight hair flipping with her.

"No, I'm tired."

Minerva frowned, her excitement gone, "I wanna play!"

"But I don't want to. I'm tired."

Minerva stepped forwards which made Olivia gasp and shoot right up, "Just for a little longer?" Minerva pleaded.

Olivia shook her head, "Please don't get mad...I'm just...gonna go inside now," she quickly hopped up the steps and hurried inside the house.

Minerva watched after her sister with a sad expression then turned to look for her ball. She found it near the gate and tried picking it up, "Guess play time is going to be alone...again," she sighed quietly. She threw the ball into the air and watched it go up. When it came back down, it ended up on the other side of the gate on the side walk.

She opened the latch of the gate and stepped onto the sidewalk. The pink ball rolled into the street with the wind and so Minerva hurried on over to grab it.

"Don't do that," a voice stopped her before her foot stepped onto the road.

"Huh?" she looked around and saw a man coming up to her. She quickly hurried back inside the gate and closed the latch, forgetting about the ball.

The Doctor stopped in front of the gate and turned for the road. Minerva saw him reach down and stand up with her pink ball, "Here you go," he turned around and held it over the gate for her.

Minerva stood there, not making a move. She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, after all. Her grandparents told her that was dangerous.

The Doctor smiled, "I'm just returning your toy. And, by the way, I think there's a little girl over there," he pointed across the street to the right, "That might need a playmate."

"Who?"

He simply pointed again, knowing the curiosity of the girl would get the best of her. He beamed when he was right and Minerva walked up to the gate and got on her toes, peering over to see where he was pointing.

"That's the Donovan's house," she looked at him sheepishly, "I don't know them."

"Then meet them," he ruffled her hair, making her smile, "The little girl," he pointed to the chestnut brunette girl on the porch of the house, "Is your age and she's a talker, something you'll need later."

"What's your name?" she asked suddenly, "I can't talk to strangers."

"It's a secret," he put a finger to his lips.

"You have a funny accent," she remarked.

"Funny, eh?" he raised an eyebrow.

She nodded, "I don't like it..."

"I don't think that'll be a problem later," he laughed, "Now how about that friend?"

Minerva peered over the gate again and saw the little girl the Doctor spoke about, "I don't know."

"Her name is Stacey Donovan. She'll be a great friend.."

"Does she like playing catch?"

"Yes."

"And dolls?"

"Yup."

"...grandma!" she shouted and ran back to the house.

The Doctor smiled as he watched the young Clever Girl disappear inside the house. He looked to the windows and noticed Olivia Souza watching him from outside. She looked terrified beyond belief and he knew that the fear wasn't for him, it was of something else...a little five year old girl.

 **Year 1996...**

"What are you saying, mother?" a fourteen year old Olivia followed Sophia around her office.

"Just what you heard, dear," Sophia sat behind her desk.

Olivia stopped on the other side and raised an eyebrow, "You want me to believe that Joyce isn't human and that she's in reality some alien?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I need you to believe."

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're sounding? I mean, I understand that she's adopted okay? I don't need to be babied on that topic. I don't care if she's adopted, I love her like a sister of my own blood."

Her mother had been annoying her for the last two years to keep her distance from her sister, Joyce, because it was apparently dangerous. Sometimes, Olivia admitted that she would listen to her mother's words and actually feel frightened by Minerva. But after so much time, Olivia wanted to know why her mother was so adamant about this.

"Except she's not," Sophia seriously said, "The truth is she's an alien. She has the ability to change her face and her whole body. And don't tell me you don't believe me, sweetheart. You're going to tell me that you haven't noticed a strange, little blue light that seems to follow her and us around?"

Olivia remained silent at that.

"We've all seen it, even my parents," Sophia laughed bitterly, "They think I'm all evil for distancing myself from Joycelin. They act like it's not a problem, like everything is going to work out. But _I'm_ the mother and therefore I know what's going on."

"But the light hasn't done anything," Olivia mumbled.

"How do we know it's not waiting for the right moment to attack, hmm?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, "Olivia, you should be afraid. At any moment, Joycelin can revert back to her original self and hurt you."

"If she can hurt me then why is she still here with us?"

"Because I don't know how to get rid of her. If we leave her in an adoption center and they run a simple blood test we're toast! If we leave her in a police station, they'll run the tests and link her back to us. Besides, it's too late to get rid of her. She's seven, she understands perfectly! We're stuck with her."

"But she's nice, she loves us and...you treat her really bad. Dad only treats her a little better but you're both awful to her."

"We can't associate with her too much. Her emotions are dangerous, Liv," Sophia shook her head, "If she's angry she get's stronger and I don't want you to get hurt. That's why I'm here, warning you, don't get too close to Joycelin."

Olivia sighed, "But-"

"Consider it, dear. I wanted to bring you a little sister and instead I brought home a little monster...and I'm sorry."

Olivia nodded and walked out of her mother's office. She leaned against the closed door and took a deep breath.

"No, come back, doggy!" a seven year old Minerva ran down the hallway after a brown puppy, "Look Liv, I found a puppy outside. Do you think we can keep it?"

Olivia backed away from her, unsure how to feel about what she heard. Minerva wasn't human and...aren't aliens always bad people? That's how the movies always show them.

"Liv?" Minerva picked up the puppy.

"Stay back..." Olivia turned around and ran for her room.

The Doctor turned off the TARDIS monitor after that, unable to bring himself to see a sad Minerva that was only _seven years old_. He was furious at Sophia! How the hell could she do that to Olivia and Minerva? She had implanted the ideas in Olivia's head that made her become distant with Minerva throughout the rest of their lives. Olivia hadn't been a bad sister, she had just listened to the wrong person.

 ** _Year 2000..._**

Olivia got out of her car and locked it before walking up to her little sister's middle school. She'd just gotten a call from her mother and was told to go pick up her sister because she was doing an important case, her father aiding her, and her grandparents were just not in reach. It was up to her to go pick up Minerva, unfortunately.

"Joycelin?" she called.

"She's over there," her younger cousin, Marisol Souza, walked towards her, "Crying like usual," she rolled her eyes.

"What did you do?" Olivia sighed.

She couldn't understand why the hell Marisol had to keep messing with her sister. She didn't like to admit but...she _really_ disliked Marisol. Apart from her rude behavior towards Minerva, she was completely horrid to everyone. She had a bad attitude that always seemed to find a way to put everyone down. And for some reason, she focused all her attitude on Minerva.

"Me? Nothing, I simply made our class see she was being weird and stupid...again," Marisol rolled her eyes, "And she started crying like always."

"Don't you have anything better to do with your life?" Olivia pushed past Marisol, unable to find herself to care that the girl was younger than her. She disliked her and that was that.

Olivia found Minerva sitting in one of the lunch tables outside, her head and arms on the table, her head buried in her arms. Olivia bit her lip and stood at the corner, a bit nervous to go and talk to her. She was afraid that Minerva could out lash and hurt her...at least that's what her mother always said could happen if Minerva's emotions were to mount. But as she heard her little sister's quiet sobs, her heart broke and she headed over.

"Joyce..." she set a hand on Minerva's back.

"I don't want to come to school anymore," Minerva looked up, her face stained with tears, "Can I be home schooled?"

"You can't let Marisol get to you-"

"She makes people hate me!" Minerva shouted, startling Olivia, "She makes them think I'm too weird! I don't think normally and apparently my creativity is abnormal too! God, no one understands me!"

Olivia had backed away the moment Minerva had started yelling. While she didn't agree with the way Marisol treated Minerva, she did have to concede that Minerva wasn't exactly the most normal eleven year old she knew. Eleven year old's didn't use complicated words like Minerva did, they didn't create projects that were way over the top even for an honor student. They didn't make theories of the universe laws or anything like that. She was a sixth grader! Sixth grade girls were supposed to be starting to take notice of their appearance. That didn't mean Olivia wanted to see Minerva obsessing over her looks, but...at least that would be normal for a sixth grader...but then again how could she expect Minerva to be a normal human being if...if she _wasn't_ a human being?

"I, uh...I'm going to go wait in the car..." Olivia quickly said, rushing away.

Minerva wiped her face and laid her head on the table on its side, sniffling. Olivia looked back at Minerva for a second and sighed. She didn't like being so distant but she was afraid...and how do you combat fear?

From afar, the Doctor watched Olivia literally run back to her car. He shook his head, all this fear...and why? Because of Sophia.

 _ **Year 2002.**_

Olivia had rushed into her car, ignoring the shouts of an early teen Minerva hollering after her. Olivia didn't need to hear that, she didn't need a reminder of the injustice. It wasn't her fault her parents acted the way they did to her little sister. She tried, she really tried but...they were afraid.

And at times so was she.

The blonde drove way past the speed limit, wanting to get as far away as possible from everything. She just wanted to think everything through. She wanted a clear head before she returned home and tried to talk to her sister and parents. She drove past red lights, ignoring the angry curse words the other drivers shouted at her. She got on the road heading to the outskirts of the city. Perhaps her grandparents could help her out. They usually had the right words her parents often didn't. The road was a bit bumpier than usual and she noticed a pullover session not too far ahead. Thankfully, she saw another road open which was even less crowded and so she turned for it instead.

"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!" she gritted her teeth, driving faster.

Her eyes were partially blurred with her tears that she was doing her best to keep within. She'd never felt so awful than right now. Her sister, her little sister had thrown everything in her face, the cruel reality they both faced...and it was all true. Every last word Minerva had said was true.

"Watch out!" she heard a man's voice suddenly.

"Huh?" she didn't have time to look...

...before she crashed into a tree.

The Doctor stood across the road, a grim look on his face as he saw everything play out before him.

~ 0 ~

Olivia awoke on the ground, her whole body aching. She could barely keep her eyes open or move even a finger. She could just see her car beside her, the front crashed into the tree. The glass of the front window was broken into pieces... _she'd_ broken it into pieces the moment she went through it. Her whole body contained bits of glass, her head throbbed and was pouring out blood, all thanks to the roll she did to the ground.

She knew right there and then she wouldn't be surviving any of this.

"Olivia?" she heard again.

She did her best to focus on the direction of the sound. A man with pointy brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a pinstriped suit came up to her and bent down beside her, "I'm sorry," the Doctor whispered to her.

"Help..." was all she could muster out.

He nodded and took her into his arms, standing to his feet, "I'm going to get you to the hospital, alright?"

She closed her eyes and nodded, "...you said my name..."

He sighed, "Yes, I did."

"Wh..." but she fell unconscious at that moment.

"Oh Olivia, if I could have...I would have..." the Doctor mumbled to himself as he headed on out for the hospital.

When Olivia woke up she found herself in a white room, her ears were partially ringing even though there were no sounds. She felt _awful_. Her head was literally killing her and her body felt so numb she really wondered if she was just a head at the moment.

"Olivia?" she heard the Doctor's voice again.

She turned her head to the left and saw the same man who'd rescued her standing beside the bed she was in, "...who are you?" she whispered, her voice not strong enough anymore.

"You don't know me, but one day I'm going to be very important to someone...your sister," the Doctor paused, Olivia barely able to raise an eyebrow, "I'm a time traveler and when your sister is sixteen years old, she and I are going to meet."

Olivia closed her eyes for a second, "Joycelin..."

"Well, she prefers to call herself Minerva."

Olivia managed a smile, "Right. Mom and her get into so many arguments about that. I like Minerva better."

The Doctor smiled at that, "Yeah, so do I."

Olivia opened her eyes, grunting as she tried to take a deep breath, "You're an alien," she declared, "A time traveling alien who came to be with me at my death bed."

"I know you must be asking yourself why I didn't save you, why I didn't go back farther and stop all this from happening..."

"My death will provoke things that must happen," she finished for him, leaving him stunned she spoke with so much calmness and no anger, "Important things that must always happen."

"Olivia, truly, I am _so_ sorry," he sighed as he looked over, "You had some much life ahead...and I...I'm sorry."

Olivia looked at him, surprised herself that he was nearly crying, "You know me..." she realized, several things coming back to her from her past.

That made her wince.

She was seeing her life flash through her mind.

She was going to die soon.

"Forgive me but I've been traveling throughout your life," the Doctor explained, not proud of it but it had been necessary.

He wanted to see exactly how 'Kaeya/Minerva' had been raised and lived throughout the years before he had met her (again). He figured by doing that he could perhaps see the blue light at work, and he had. He learned the light had followed Minerva everywhere, from a toddler up to the point of her timeline with him. However, it didn't always act. It seemed like it chose precise moments, perhaps the moments that needed the most help. He also saw that it didn't help just Minerva but the people around, also at precise moments...explaining why it hadn't helped Olivia.

"You were the man who gave Joyce back her pink ball," Olivia realized, the small snippets coming back to her.

"I needed to see it all," the Doctor explained briefly, she didn't need to know things that...wouldn't matter in a couple minutes for her, "I've been there from the moment Minerva entered your lives..."

"You were there too," Olivia nodded weakly, getting the brief image in her head of the man in a suit across the street from her house while she was playing Jenga with Minerva, "Then you saw how horrible she's been treated..." she mumbled, "You know, I always wanted a little sister or brother..."

"You love Minerva, don't you? I saw it quite clear throughout your life."

Olivia nodded, "She was my little sister."

It made her wince again as she spoke in the past tense. But, what was the point in denying it? She was dying and it was time to reflect on her life.

"But you were afraid of her too," the Doctor pointed out.

He'd seen it throughout her lifetime. While at times she loved to play with Minerva, talk to her...there were often times where she purposely stayed away from Minerva because she was afraid of what Minerva was 'capable of'.

"Yes, but now I know it was wrong...poor...Minerva," Olivia sniffled, "She was right in everything. Mom and Dad did prefer me because they knew I was human. Mom had this nasty preference to give me all the time in the world while Minerva barely got a bedtime story. I tried to make mom understand that if she brought Minerva home and decided to raise her as her own than she should actually _be_ a mother to her. But my mom changed..."

"Yeah..." the Doctor looked to the side, not going to get into that matter.

"I was an awful sister to her too," she sniffled louder, "I told her that if she wanted to get along with our parents than she should be a lawyer and should stop being so snappy and...oh my god, I'm awful!"

"No, no, don't say that, please," the Doctor sat down on a chair beside her, "Minerva doesn't think that of you, I swear."

"But it's true, I should've defended her like a good big sister. I should have done something...and I didn't. Now, now I'm going to die and Minerva will never know that I'm sorry and she'll never forgive me."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and sighed deeply, "Wooow..."

"What?"

"It's just, this is _so_ ironic," he ran a hand through his hair, "See, in the future, Minerva lives perturbed because she believes _she_ killed you. That it was her fault any of this happened and that _you_ didn't forgive her for everything she said at the shop and for...this accident."

"N-n-n-no! Don't let her believe that, please!" Olivia exclaimed, groaning when she accidentally moved her arm, "I don't have anything to forgive because she was right! She had the short end of the stick and I came out shining on top. Don't let her believe that, please."

The Doctor sighed, feeling so horrible how Olivia was already resigned to dying today. He wished he could do something about it, save her...grant her the life she deserved.

But he couldn't.

Olivia was a big part of Minerva's past and changing her death would provoke bigger consequences...ones that could even prevent Minerva from meeting him...and worse, from regaining her true identity properly.

"Why are you here?" Olivia asked quietly, feeling her breathing begin to struggle; she didn't have much time anymore.

"There was a problem in the future and I needed to see how Minerva lived up to her eighteenth year of life."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She's going to turn back into an alien, frankly," he half-smiled. What better way could he explain it, really?

"Where is she from?" Olivia asked with mild curiosity.

"This beautiful planet filled with snow and with a great big moon," the Doctor smiled, "She's actually the princess of the planet, the royal Moon Child," Olivia's eyebrows raised, "Though she hated being called that. The whole 'royal' thing made her feel a-"

"Stuck-up?"

"Yeah," the Doctor chuckled, "She's a Moon child, let's leave it at that."

"Good for her," Olivia smiled, "We gave her a crappy human life. She deserves to go out there where she belongs and live a happy life. But you haven't answered my question, why are you here with _me_? Minerva's back at the shop, probably home."

"She is," the Doctor nodded, making Olivia see he'd already checked up on her little sister.

"Then...I don't..." she was really confused now.

He just faintly smiled and took her hand, making sure not to grip it too hard, "No one deserves to die alone," he knew from Minerva that Olivia had died before her parents had actually gotten to the hospital. That, a stranger of some sort (of course it had been him) had brought her into the building and last about two hours. Well, one and a half hours had already passed in her unconscious state. She had only a small amount of time left, maybe even less than they thought.

Olivia managed to squeeze his hand, "Thank you," she whispered.

"Believe me, if I could've saved you I would have," he assured, though that didn't make anything better, not for her nor him.

"It's okay, just tell me one thing and it'll make this all okay...is she happy with you?" she questioned, "Does she laugh? Does she smile like she should've?"

"Yes, I strive to see my Clever Girl smile every day," he patted her hand.

"Good," her eyes began feeling heavier and heavier, "One more thing...could you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Tell Minerva that I am so sorry for everything. Tell her that I want her to live to the maximum, far away from a lawyer's office. And, if it means so much to her to hear this then tell her that of course I forgive her for her words at the shop. And tell her..." she involuntarily paused as her voice cut off, "...tell her that I love her to bits and pieces and that she was a fine sister."

The Doctor silently nodded, sadly watching her begin to go.

"Tell my family that I love them too, please. I loved them all..."

"I will," the Doctor assured.

"I don't want to die," she sniffled, the fear of death creeping up on her, "I don't want to…"

"I'm really sorry," the Doctor felt her hand gripping his.

"Why do I have to die…" Olivia's words started to slur as her eyes slowly closed, "…why…" and the strength in her hand that had been squeezing his faded away.

The Doctor sighed and leaned forwards to kiss her blonde hair, "I'm sorry, Liv," he stood from his chair and slowly walked out, wiping away some tears from his eyes as he closed the door to her room.

A couple minutes after the Doctor left, the blue light came through the door...straight for Olivia's body. There were low whispers coming from inside the room as a strong, blue glow emerged from underneath the door.

~ 0 ~

 _ **Year 2009.**_

"And this is your home for the moment," Isadora explained as Minerva walked in, well more liked walked in by Donna and Martha, into her house.

Minerva had been released from the hospital and was brought to Isadora's house, the safest place for her at the moment. Martha had called the Doctor immediately after discovering Minerva's sudden amnesia and explained to him the situation. Yes, none of them were expecting that problem. Martha thought he'd come straight back for her but instead he said that if this had happened he'd need more information. So he set out to find Mayar and Zohar again. Martha understood and assured him Minerva would be taken care of. Donna had told her and Stacey that it probably was for the best the Doctor stayed away for a while, surprising them both. She explained the trouble they'd have if they tried explaining to Minerva that in reality she traveled through space and time with an alien who was her boyfriend and was 903 years old. Apart from that, they'd have to explain what was going on with Minerva's true identity and her actual...crappy...past she lived with her human family.

No one wanted to do that last one.

So, for the moment, they allowed Minerva to believe she was human and living with her grandmother because she had differences with her mother.

Nicolas had also been let out of the hospital a couple days before but was sent to his house instead where he could keep an eye on Sophia for them. It seemed like the mother Souza had taken a liking to the new amnesia and the group could only guess why. This would be Sophia's opportunity to morph Minerva into whatever she liked. And, with Marisol's help, who knows what they would do! Although, Donna declared if that Marisol woman tried anything against her Clever sister she'd kill her. And then Stacey had said she'd help with a shovel. Martha wasn't too pleased with that...mostly, anyways. It seemed like Minerva had her own personal, and secret, army watching out for her.

"Grandma, I remember the house," Minerva mumbled as she looked around.

"Good, that's great," Isadora sighed, a bit content to see her granddaughter regain a small part of her life back.

It seemed that Minerva's amnesia would be temporary as she was already beginning to remember things only after a couple days of awakening. She knew her name was Minerva Joycelin Souza, her birthday was October 31st, 1990, she liked to draw and had a best friend and two sisters named Martha Jones, Donna Noble and Stacey Donovan. It was a relief in the midst of everything else. Since the Doctor was going to be away for a while, they had all decided it was best to go ahead and inform Minerva's family what was really going on...and that had been quite an episode. Isadora was distraught to know that her granddaughter wasn't actually her granddaughter and was in more danger than she realized around Sophia and with Martha's job, UNIT. She didn't care if Minerva wasn't her blood, not even of the same species, she only wanted her granddaughter (because she would _always_ be her granddaughter no matter what) to be safe. Aaron, along with Cody, had taken the news pretty good and offered their help for anything and against anything. For Nicolas, needless to say he was more than ready to fight against anyone if they tried to harm Minerva, even if it had to be between him and his own wife. It was his opportunity to be a real (adoptive) father and he wasn't going to blow it.

"Are you hungry?" Isadora asked Minerva, "I could bake your favorite dessert...do you remember what it is?"

"Minty fresh brownies," Minerva answered distractedly as she walked up to a pile of toys at the corner of the living room, "And snicker-doodles..."

"Good, excellent," Isadora smiled and looked at the three women with them.

"It's safe to say that her memory will definitely be coming back," Martha remarked with a relieved smile.

""There's a doll missing," Minerva concluded after studying the pile of toys for a moment, "Where's Lucy?"

"Oh, you gave that one to my little sister," Stacey stepped up.

Minerva looked back with confusion, "I did?"

"Mhm," Stacey nodded, "Do you...do you want it back?"

"No, it's fine..." Minerva stood up, her eyes looking around, "...can I go outside?"

"What for?" Donna asked.

"I need to sit on the bench outside," she walked for the doorway and stopped to think, "...why do I need to do that?"

Donna believed it to be because of the Doctor, of course. The last time they'd been here that's where they had spent some time together.

"Maybe go sit outside and you'll remember," Martha offered, picking up that had been a Martian moment as well.

Minerva nodded silently, still unsure why she wanted to do such a thing. Her hand went up to her necklace the Doctor gifted her for her birthday and rubbed the pendant repeatedly.

"Do you think that's the way her subconscious is telling her she's missing a certain Time Lord?" Donna asked Martha after Minerva left.

"I think so," Martha shrugged.

"Where is the man, anyways?" Isadora put her hands on her hips, fairly irritated the man was nowhere to be seen, "He's always blabbing that he'd never leave Minerva's side and yet..."

"It's important, Mrs. Lozano," Stacey offered a small smile, "Remember? He's gathering every bit of information he can to _help_ Minerva."

"Right," Isadora nodded, sighing, "I just don't like this at all. I need to know my granddaughter is going to be alright and safe and..."

"Why won't you go and make her her favorite meal?" Martha offered her, seeing the woman getting worked up. The last thing they needed was for Isadora to get sick as well, "The faster she remembers the best it will be for her safety," Isadora nodded again and headed for the kitchen, "Well, we should go unpack the clothes the Doctor left for Minerva," Martha sighed.

Before leaving, the Doctor had left a couple suitcases with clothes Minerva had worn from the TARDIS wardrobe. It was his silly way of wanting to feel like she wasn't completely out of the TARDIS and without him.

"Should we really leave her alone, though?" Stacey looked back at the open doorway.

"You said it yourself, it's a safe neighborhood. Plus, she needs to be alone for a bit to figure out her thoughts," Martha said and motioned for her and Donna to follow into the hallway for Minerva's room.

They would have to rid the room of the pictures of Minerva and anything non-human related in there before she saw. Her mind was delicate at the moment and her emotions were the center of the Moontsay. It was best not to test what she could and couldn't do. The one thing none of the women dared to take away was the necklace Minerva had kept around her neck, her birthday present from the Doctor, and the teddy bear the Doctor had left. Minerva seemed attached to those two things and happy, meaning it needed to stay.

Donna and Martha would be staying in the house until the Doctor returned, while Stacey remained with her mother and sister across the street. Since Aaron and Cody had finally found an apartment not too far from the neighborhood, Donna and Martha fit perfectly in the empty guest room in Isadora's house, perfect distance to keep an eye on Minerva. Everything would be perfect and Minerva would be safe.

~ 0 ~

Minerva sat on the front porch bench in silence, her hands on her lap and fingers playing together. She kept looking to her side as if someone would just randomly appear beside her. She kept having these brief moments of her sitting on this bench...on someone's lap.

That alone made her blush like mad.

Why was she thinking of such things? She should be ashamed of herself. This was her grandmother's house! She'd never do anything like that. Her hand went up to her necklace's pendant where she absently rubbed the side with the funny symbols. Apparently, she'd bought the silly old necklace in Europe during one of her travels which apparently she also did, be a traveler. She didn't know why but she felt comfort whenever she touched the pendant.

She noticed a car pulling up in front of the house and recognized one of the men stepping out as her uncle Aaron, her mother's brother. She stood up and headed towards the front steps, when she froze...

* * *

 _"Oi, is that my little niece!?" Aaron called from the front gate of Isadora's house._

 _Minerva and the Doctor flinched at the new voice, Minerva glancing over her shoulder as her mind raced to match the voice with its rightful owner._

 _"Last time I remember she hated to even be kissed on the cheek!" Aaron continued, trying to sound like a responsible adult._

 _"Uncle Aaron?" Minerva whispered, shocked before she went into excitement-mode, "Uncle Aaron!"_

* * *

Minerva flung her hand to her neck, her face growing red as a tomato. That was her uncle shouting at her while she and someone else were...kissing. She felt her heart flutter but decided to ignore it and go greet her uncle.

"Minerva!" Aaron exclaimed, walking over to hug her, "Cody and I just visited your father to tell him you were let out. He'll be calling later to check up on you."

"Thank you," she pulled back and peered around to see a young man coming around the car, "Hello," she smiled at him.

"Do you remember him?" Aaron curiously asked while Cody stood in front of them, rather sheepish now.

"Um..." she remembered her brief moment on the porch and blushed, "...are you my boyfriend?"

Cody chuckled, "Don't think so."

And so she blushed harder for her mistake, "Sorry, I just thought..."

"It's okay, I'm Cody Ripoll," he held his hand for her to shake, "We've met actually. Sort have the same problems with our parents and stuff, we had talks about it, remember?" Minerva just blinked with confusion, "Not yet, apparently."

"Sorry," Minerva shook her head.

"It's fine, it'll come back to you."

"Cody and I are roommates and co-workers," Aaron explained, "We have a job in the city and decided to stay near the neighborhood."

"So we'll be seeing more of each other now," Cody added.

Minerva smiled and nodded, still flustering from her error, "Okay."

"Is there something you needed?" Aaron asked her.

"Um..." she rubbed her necklace pendant as she thought, something that didn't go unnoticed by Aaron. He knew where the necklace had come from and hoped that the Doctor would hurry back, "I just wanna walk," Minerva suddenly said, "You know, re-familiarize myself with the neighborhood."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead," Aaron nodded, "The people here are so lovely."

She nodded, "Okay, um...just tell my grandmother please? I don't want her to worry."

Aaron agreed and took Cody with him towards the house. Minerva took a deep breath and started walking down the street. Things did look familiar in a way, it was just that the pieces were slowly getting together. But it did make her feel better to know that the amnesia wouldn't last long as she was remembering everything fairly fast.

She was walking farther away when a car pulled up beside her, a woman with shiny black hair and blue eyes appearing on the on the driver's seat, "Minerva?" she asked.

"Yes..." Minerva looked around, a bit nervous now.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Um...not really, sorry," Minerva made a face.

Marisol Souza smirked and reached to open the passenger seat door, "I'm your cousin, Marisol Souza. Listen, I was just going to visit you but since you're already out, wanna go get some coffee or something?"

"I don't know, I need to tell my grandmother-"

"We'll call her once we're at the shop. C'mon, don't say you don't trust me? We're family," Marisol pouted innocently, "Gonna leave me hanging?"

"No, I suppose not," Minerva sighed. She didn't want to make her cousin feel bad. If she came to visit her then she should have the courtesy to accept her invitation. Perhaps she could even help with her missing memories.

"Excellent," Marisol watched her get into her car with a triumphant smile.

Her aunt had informed her of her cousin's unfortunate amnesia. There was a plan to be set and it would go exactly the way Sophia wanted it, and if Marisol was lucky enough she would get her own piece of revenge against her cousin.

~ 0 ~

"What are you doing here?" Mayar, of the Monsoon, demanded as soon as the Doctor had stepped out of the TARDIS.

He'd heard the familiar sounds of the stupid box and had quickly ran for them. The last thing he needed was to see the Time Lord again. But to his surprise, this time it was only the Doctor that had come out, none of his companions from the last time were around.

"We need to talk," the Doctor raised his hands, gesturing he came in peace.

"I said everything I needed to say last time. Leave now because this time I will not hesitate to throw you back into that box myself," Mayar threatened.

"It's about your granddaughter," the Doctor called, swallowing as he prepared to say his next words, "She's alive and I know where she is."

Mayar froze, his eyes narrowing with utter darkness inside them, "This is a cruel joke, even for your kind. Haven't you done enough?"

"It's not a joke, she's alive!" the Doctor stepped forwards, "And you've already seen her before. She... _regenerated_. She changed her face."

"She...she figured it out? She triggered her regeneration cycle?" Mayar's eyes watered up as he considered the possibility of having his granddaughter back with him, "She-she regenerated?"

The Doctor nodded, "She used the chameleon arch with her regeneration...making herself..."

"Human," Mayar whispered, closing his eyes.

He should have known Kaeya would've tried changing herself into a creature that could travel anywhere she wanted. And out of all the species in the world she always loved the humans most.

"Tell me who it was," Mayar ordered quietly, already thinking of the two women who had accompanied the Doctor the last time, "Which one was my granddaughter?"

"It was Minerva, the brunette with green eyes."

"Excessively long hair," Mayar nodded as he recalled that woman...his _granddaughter_.

"She's Kaeya, in her second incarnation. But she used the chameleon arch and it went wrong."

"Is she okay!?"

"In what fits," the Doctor shrugged, "She's lost all her human memories after falling into a coma-like state. But apparently she's regaining them pretty quick, though I seem to be missing from the picture, along with everything alien-related."

While it had only been a couple days for the Doctor since he'd left Minerva at the hospital, Martha told him that it had been two weeks for them on Earth. Minerva was much better and nearly remembered everything from her life...except her travels with the Doctor and the man himself. It seemed like anything alien was ripped out of her mind and left her to believe she was just another human. He supposed that was the beginning of the process that would soon begin to fill her head with her alien memories with the necklace she'd have to wear.

"Perhaps that's her way of sending you away," Mayar spat.

"No, I don't think so," the Doctor shook his head, not at all offended with the man's words, "See, because Kaeya's loved me throughout her whole life, _lives_. She'd never stop so I'm guessing that her mind is preparing to fill her head with _all_ the alien memories starting from the day she was truly born on this planet."

By the way Mayar was glaring at him the Doctor knew he was right. There was no point in arguing about this. While Kaeya had been rather reserved and quiet, she was also a bit impulsive when she was angry. He assumed she had to have triggered the regeneration during the last day the Moontsays were on the Monsoon and if she believed her entire family had died...she had nothing else to lose. She would make herself human and leave the planet to try and find that Doctor again, hoping he'd survive as well.

"Bring her to me," Mayar finally ordered, "She needs to be here with me."

"I can't-"

"She is _my_ granddaughter and I demand to see her now! She is the last of the royal Moon Children and she needs to be here!"

"First of all, she's someone else's granddaughter now too so you're going to have to speak to her grandmother and let me tell you Isadora Lozano will not stand for any of your tantrums if it's harming Minerva," the Doctor snapped, leaving Mayar quiet for a moment, "Second of all, Minerva doesn't know who she really is. She'll be more than terrified to see me and learn she's been traveling with an alien who now wants to bring her back to her true home where her alien grandfather is waiting for her. It'll traumatize her! I can't do that to her, and I won't."

That was the main reason why the Doctor hadn't dropped everything he was doing to rush back to Minerva when he'd learned of her amnesia. As a human, Minerva had already suffered a psychological trauma due to her sister's death and mother's blame. He didn't want to add a bigger trauma by telling her she had an alien boyfriend and traveled through time and space. The mind was a delicate matter and he had to be extra careful now that it was about to begin a dangerous process that would essentially rewrite her entire biology as well as memories.

"And third, she's human," the Doctor sighed, "How long do you think she'd last on this cold planet? Humans, just like Moontsays, need a temperature...a _warm_ temperature to survive. The Silver Monsoon can't offer that to her, not right now."

Mayar silently conceded on the last part. He didn't know much of humans but he knew the Doctor was right. At the moment, his granddaughter wasn't a Moontsay and therefore would not resist the coldness the planet offered. She couldn't come to him...and he couldn't go to her.

"I promise you that I'll bring her here when she needs to be here, but right now I need help," the Doctor began, "The chameleon arch process didn't work correctly and now Kaeya's alien essence is split into two sides, a dark side in her necklace and a good side roaming around the world as a light. I need to know how to fix that. Zohar said something about using Kaeya's necklace but I want to go through every possible option before that one."

"I don't know," Mayar mumbled, "There were only few people that managed to trigger regeneration, but that was ancient work. And, no one's ever attempted a chameleon arch. My family never revealed the invention to the public, only to he best scientists on our planet knew. Perhaps there are books on them, though, journals from our ancestors."

"But I thought everything was destroyed," the Doctor frowned and looked around the area, seeing nothing but snow and ice.

"I've been rebuilding all this time," Mayar informed, surprising the Doctor, "You didn't think I'd be sleeping on the floor all this time, did you?"

"Well..."

"Idiot," Mayar spat.

But the Doctor was less than offended, "Minerva thinks so too," he smiled as he thought of his Clever Girl, wondering what she could be doing at the moment. He missed her terribly and it'd only been a couple days! How would he last days without seeing or talking to her!?

"Come, we have a lot of reading to do," Mayar led the way who knows where, the Doctor snapping out of his thoughts and hurrying after him.

~ 0 ~

"I mean it spaceman! You need to hurry and get back here, things with Minerva are getting worse!" Donna paced back and forth in Isadora's living room as she left the Doctor a rather frantic voice mail, "Sophia is taking advantage of the new Minerva and she's getting Marisol in this. Her father isn't able to come for the moment and we...Minerva is _accepting_ Sophia now...but she's changing. Oh Doctor, _please_ come back already. You're the only one who can put Sophia in her place and take Minerva away from all this," Donna hung up with a huge sigh.

There really was no way to describe the big chaos that was surging in this family. It had only been two weeks since Minerva had arrived home and already everything was going horribly wrong. Sophia was inevitably close to her daughter, along with Marisol, and was changing Minerva into a quiet, obedient, little girl. Donna had never seen such a side from Minerva. She didn't even know Minerva _could_ be like that. The once bold, talkative, traveler had been turned into a quiet, reserved woman. Donna just couldn't understand why Minerva was allowing so much change if she remembered everything her mother had put her through in the past.

But Martha knew why.

Yes, Minerva remembered everything of her human life except her alien travels and the Doctor. Because of her memories, Minerva remembered how badly she wanted to be forgiven for Olivia's death and if by changing and doing anything her mother said to be forgiven then so be it. Martha felt like Minerva needed the Doctor with her to be reminded of everything good she'd done despite her mother's thoughts. Martha, Donna, Stacey, Isadora and Aaron tried to make Minerva snap out of her mother's trance but none of them would get through to her. They believed only the Doctor could bring back the old, the genuine happy Minerva...but in the meantime he returned...

Minerva just wanted to be forgiven.

"Alright, I'm ready," Minerva entered the living room, Martha right behind her wearing a displeased face.

Minerva wore a rather hideous brown dress that went a bit above her knees. It had puffy sleeves with a knitted pattern on it, a choker neckline and a line around her waist as if a belt would go around it. She wore black tights underneath and brown flats. Her hair was left down except two small clips building up two small bumps on either side of her face.

"Can you believe the dress Sophia bought her?" Martha asked Donna who was still eyeing the brunette.

"I think it's lovely," Minerva fidgeted around.

"No you don't, it looks itchy," Donna frowned.

"My mom bought it and if it makes her happy then so be it," Minerva went to the couch and picked up her bag as someone knocked on the door.

"Don't do that," Donna sighed, "Sophia is awful and-"

"She's my mom, Donna," was all Minerva had to say on the matter. She went to open the door where Marisol Souza awaited, "Marisol, hi-"

"Yeah, here you go," Marisol pushed an invitation card to Minerva and pulled down her shades.

Marisol smirked when she saw the dress _she_ had picked out. Her aunt Sophia had tasked her to find a dress for Minerva that would not attract any attention from anyone. Well, it's safe to say that Marisol had done a good job.

"What is it?" Martha walked over, Donna as well.

"I'm having a party tomorrow," Marisol replied, "It's my 21st birthday."

"A masquerade," Minerva smiled as she read the invitation, "That sounds like fun."

"Yeah," Marisol rolled her eyes, "Aunt Sophia says you have to come, Minerva. And you have to wear that dress and cut your hair."

"What?" Minerva's hand flung to her hair over her shoulder.

"She said cut it this much," Marisol gestured to a height of hair just below her ear.

"But...but that's _really_ short," Minerva swallowed, actually terrified of having to deal with short hair.

"She's not cutting her hair," Donna snapped at Marisol.

"And she's not wearing that dress," Martha nodded to the dress Minerva wore, "Nope."

"It's okay guys, I'll do it," Minerva said quietly, unaware of the mouths hanging open of Martha and Donna. Marisol smirked at the pair, "I'll cut it today and I'll be there for your party with this dress."

"Excellent, see you there," Marisol winked, "Oh, and feel fee to bring a date...as if," she scoffed and walked away.

She knew that John Smith wouldn't last long with her cousin. He was already proving it by not showing up. She was going to tease Minerva about it but her aunt Sophia had warned her not to. She didn't understand why but she was smart enough to know never to cross her aunt. She was just irritated she couldn't have that man for a few moments to herself...

"Minerva you are out of your mind!" Donna exclaimed as Marisol left.

"I need to go," Minerva moved to walk out the doorway.

"That's it! You're not doing this anymore!" Martha pulled her back inside, "Minerva, you would _never_ cut your hair. You said it yourself, it would be a monstrosity!"

"I don't remember saying that," she shrugged.

"Right, 1969," Martha said to herself.

"What?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "What does 1969 have to do with this?"

Donna made a cutting gesture with her hand around her neck for Martha to see. Martha bit her tongue and forced herself to keep quiet, "Nothing."

"Mm," Minerva shrugged and walked out of the house.

"What are we going to do?" Donna asked quietly, "We can't let her do that..."

"Oh, _we're_ not going to do anything," Martha took the cellphone from Donna's hand, "But a certain Martian will..." she smirked and started dialing.

~ 0 ~

Minerva walked down a busy street holding a black purse in front of her, feeling more like a school girl than a young woman. She was distracted from everything around her as her mind was jumbled up with different snippets of rather odd scenes of her.

The Doctor was following Minerva from a safe distance, not too pleased of what he heard from Martha. He had been with Zohar when he'd received a call from a frantic human doctor and ginger woman. It was rather hard to understand both women speaking at the same time but he got the basics: Sophia Souza was out of control. His Clever Girl was going to _cut_ her _hair_. Her beautiful, long brunette hair that should never _ever_ be touched by a hair-cutter was going to be trimmed up to her neck.

That would simply not do.

It was more than just a simple hair cut to him and everyone else, mainly Minerva. He knew her long hair was who she was. She loved her hair and she made it clear that under no circumstances would she ever cut it. And so now that Minerva wasn't quite herself it was up to the Doctor to save her from doing something she would always regret.

Minerva saw the hair salon across the street and sighed. She didn't want to cut her hair, ever, but if it would please her mother then she would have to do it. She didn't have any thing in her life at this point, she had to stop her travelers due to her amnesia, had no job, no one...she supposed she could at least have a better relationship with her mother since she'd already gotten a bit better with her father.

As Minerva thought and thought, she stepped down on the street road to cross...

...there was a car coming over.

"Minerva!" the Doctor shouted, his hearts beating at light speed as he bolted after his Clever Girl, "Minerva, watch out!"

Minerva looked up at the calls of her name and gasped as she saw the car coming straight for her, "Oh my god!"

The Doctor managed to pull her out of the way just as the car passed them. They ended up in a slightly dipping position. Minerva, for a brief moment, imagined herself in what looked like an early 1900's environment. The man holding her was dressed in 20th century clothing as well as she was and it seemed like they were in a school?

But just like that, the images were gone.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked her, setting her straight and on her feet, but never taking his arm from her waist.

Minerva was staring at him with blinking eyes, feeling a warm blush on her cheeks, her heart skipping a beat.

"Hey, are you alright?" the driver of the car had stopped and got out, quickly coming over to the pair, "I'm so sorry about that! I was distracted and...sorry," it was a young man who stopped before them.

"I think she's fine," the Doctor replied, having been aware that Minerva was staring at him. He was having a bit of a struggle not to blush with her big bright green eyes looking at him nonstop.

"Miss?" the man asked, wanting confirmation from her as well.

Minerva snapped out of it and tore her gaze from the Doctor to look at the driver, "I'm fine. Just, maybe don't be so distracted next time?" she should probably take a leaf out of her own book.

The driver, once assured that no medical assistance was going to he needed, returned to his car and drove off. The Doctor had moved Minerva to the other street she was going to cross to, finally letting go of her.

"Thank you," Minerva quietly said to him. She kept visioning him in that 1900's clothes for some reason. And...he didn't look too bad in it...

"Are you sure you're alright?" the Doctor reached to stroke a bit of her hair back behind her shoulder, quickly realizing he didn't have that right anymore and so took it back.

Minerva blushed deeply and looked to the side, a faint smile on her face, "Yes, quite."

"Where exactly were you going?"

"Uh, going to cut my hair," she gestured to the hair salon a couple shops down.

"Really? But it's such good hair, why would you cut it?"

Minerva blushed even harder, unaware of how more she could blush, "My mother prefers shorter hair."

"But what do _you_ prefer?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, watching her look down sadly.

"Longer hair..."

"So why exactly are you going to cut it, then?"

Minerva bit her lip and looked up, "It's just trying to please my mom and all. We don't have a good relationship and she's been a bit happier lately because I'm finally listening to her."

He could tell Minerva had been listening to Sophia and ignoring her true desires. The dress Minerva wore at the moment was...hideous, even _he_ knew that. Sophia had made sure to make that obvious and in doing so she kept anyone from being around her. But that wouldn't work on him. Yes, the dress was awful, but to him Minerva still managed to look gorgeous.

Minerva was struggling to talk to the strange man in front of her, feeling like she was excessively nervous around him and she'd like to know why. Well, she could probably start with the fact that he was very handsome. She liked his hair most of all, she...wondered how it'd feel like to run her hand through it...

She blinked...had she just wondered that? Her face was now fully warm and with embarrassment she quickly turned away and hurriedly walked towards the hair salon.

"Hey, hold on," the Doctor rushed after her, unaware of the brunette's thoughts.

"Sorry, in a rush," she lied and looked away.

"I'm John, and you?" he decided it was best to keep up with his human charade for the time being.

"Minerva."

"Lovely, a goddess of wisdom," he remarked, "And I can tell you're very wise, not to mention bloody gorgeous."

Minerva looked at him with surprise and managed a deeper blush, "Thank you..." the two shared a smile as they stopped in front of the hair salon. Minerva realized their moment and looked at the salon, heaving a small sigh, "Well, here we are."

The Doctor watched her go inside and so followed her in. He looked around to see the workers working with customers in nearly every spot. As Minerva went to the front desk, he discreetly pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the power chords...

All appliances burst out sparks and shut off. The sparks then managed to spew out smoke which went up to the ceiling and started up the fire detectors and let out water.

"What's going on!?" the manager of the salon ran to the other employees.

The Doctor grabbed Minerva's arm and pulled her out of the shop, "Oh poor them, surely can't have a hair cut like that."

"What just happened?" Minerva looked at the shop from outside.

"Technical difficulties, would you like to grab some lunch with me?"

"Excuse me?" Minerva turned to him, surprised and confused at the sudden question.

The Doctor on the other hand was quite calm as he repeated his question, "Would you like to have lunch with me?"

"I...don't even know you..." Minerva wondered if that was even a reason not to accept. She did like the idea of leaving the hair cut nonsense for a rather good-looking man who had saved her life.

"Then accept my offer and we can get to know each other," he insisted, holding out his hand for her, "C'mon."

Minerva bit her lip as she thought about it. What would her mother say about this? Surely she wouldn't be too happy about it. But, Minerva did like the man in front of her and he'd saved her life. Perhaps it was fitting to have lunch with him as a thank you...

"Okay," she nodded and slowly took his hand, flinching as she felt a sudden...spark?

She looked up at the Doctor who was smiling softly at her and felt an instant smile grow on her face back. She wouldn't question the spark, she liked the spark...she'd let the spark continue.

~ 0 ~

"So you travel too? That must be amazing," Minerva sighed with content as she thought of all the places the world had to offer and she couldn't see at the moment.

The Doctor sat across her at a table they shared in a local deli shop, "What about you? You said you traveled, where've you been?"

Minerva raised her hand to touch her necklace pendant while she thought, unaware the Doctor was watching the movement, a little part of him smiling that she had kept the necklace and seemed to be having an effect of comfort on her.

"I can't remember," she admitted, "I had an accident a couple weeks ago and it's sort of made me lose several parts of my memory. I don't remember any place that's not San Diego."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's weird because I remember mostly everything besides those travels and yet I still feel like there's something important I'm not remembering," she explained, her fingers rubbing on the pendant still, "It's like I ought to remember but my head won't allow me too..and it makes me feel...empty..." her voice broke as she came to a halt, her gaze falling to the table while her fingers remained on the pendant.

The Doctor saddened up as he realized she meant him. Apart from their relationship, he knew he'd made a good impact on her life. From helping her with Olivia's death all the way to dealing with the crystal inside her heart. He played a large role in her life and now that he was missing, it left a big hole for her.

Minerva realized she was losing it and quickly looked at him with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry for that. My mouth has a mind of its own and it just says things it shouldn't."

"I think you should always speak what's on your mind," he shrugged, aware that Minerva had been shutting down her sassy attitude due to Sophia.

"I have and...it hasn't ended well..."

"How so?"

"Well, it made my older sister and my mother hate me," Minerva blinked, "Oh my god did I just say that to you?"

The Doctor half-smiled, "Don't worry, I inspire trust."

Minerva was severely confused at the moment. Why would she say so much about herself to a man she'd met only an hour ago. She cursed her speeding heart as the culprit. Every time he spoke she felt like she could literally listen to him speak for an eternity. And then when they had happened to touch each other's hands in the while they'd been at the shop she blushed like a tomato. She'd touched Cody's hand when they practiced photography and she didn't blush once. Granted, she hadn't felt attracted to him like the man in front of her now. Hold on...did she just realize she was attracted to the stranger she'd met only an hour ago? But the Doctor made her _want_ to touch his hand again, over and over. He made her want to stay with her and talk all about herself. Why would she be compelled to do so?

"I have to go," she declared and stood up, too confused to stick around for an answer.

The Doctor sensed it was becoming too much for her around and didn't insist on her to stay. Instead, he stood up as well, he had a better idea pop into his head, "Can I...ask you out on a date tonight?"

Minerva's mouth nearly fell to the ground in shock, "You want to go on a date with _me_?"

"Yes, I'd love to see you again and what better terms than a date?"

"Are you sure?"

She couldn't understand why the man easy so keen on seeing her again, what was so special about her? She wasn't like her cousin Marisol. She was actually pretty, successful, bold, and...well...not Minerva. Minerva couldn't see anything good about her that would make him ask her on a date. But as she looked up into his eyes, she could see his desire for her to say yes, for her to allow him to spend time with her later on.

"Okay," she whispered, brightly smiling when the Doctor beamed at her response.

"Great! Fantastic!" he exclaimed, taking her hand and kissing its back out of excitement.

"Oh, okay," Minerva breathed heavily, once again the shade of a tomato.

The Doctor, a bit embarrassed now, let go of her hand and rubbed the side of her neck. It wasn't his fault he missed his Clever Girl so much! He just thought a date would help keep that desire for her to come back with him suppressed long enough for him to figure out everything. But in the end he was just a man that missed his love.

~ 0 ~

"You have a date!?" Donna and Martha cried at the news, horrified of what Minerva had told them.

Minerva had explained that she'd nearly been ran over by a car but a man had saved her and took her out to lunch. She told them that she may have a crush on him and she'd be having a date with him tonight.

"You can't go!" Martha shook her head, too horrified to say more.

What would the Doctor say about this!? He had been paranoid as it was leaving her alone with that Cody who turned out to be no real threat. Now Minerva was going on a date with some man...and..that wouldn't end well.

Minerva frowned, "Why not?"

"Because...because..." Martha looked at Donna for help.

How could they explain to Minerva that she wasn't single and actually had actually boyfriend who wasn't human? Oh, the Doctor would kill them if they allowed Minerva on a date with some bloke. She thought he'd stop Minerva from cutting her hair today and what happened? Minerva had met some other bloke, entirely human, and was now developing feelings for him!

There was a knock on the door that made Donna go and answer while Martha tried coming up with a valid excuse for Minerva.

"Martha, I feel fine now. I think this date could be a good thing," Minerva explained.

"Hey!" Stacey strolled in with a grin, "I heard someone has a date tonight!"

"Maybe because I just said it?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, making Stacey chuckle, "Can you please help me with these two? They don't think this date is a good idea."

"Stacey help us out here," Donna frowned as she returned to them.

"I think it's a great idea," Stacey shrugged.

"Thank you!" Minerva hugged her, having her back to Martha and Donna who glared daggers at Stacey.

"Have you told them who this date is?" Stacey pulled away, completely calm about the glares, "The name?"

"We don't care," Donna and Martha declared, crossing their arms.

"Oh you're gonna care," Stacey smirked.

"His name is John Smith," Minerva said, still hopeful her friends would change their mind about the date.

Sure enough, Martha and Donna started coming around the idea. They looked at Stacey for confirmation and once knowing who this date was, they nodded their heads in approval.

"Thank you!" Minerva rushed to hug them both, "Because I'm going to need help figuring out what I'm going to wear."

"Count me in," Martha smiled at her, nostalgic actually for the times she'd dressed Minerva up to turn the Doctor's head.

"Me too," Donna added.

Minerva looked back at Stacey, "Sorry, but I have to babysit Tamara tonight."

"It's fine," Minerva assured, "I'll tell you everything that happens tomorrow at Marisol's party."

"Ew," Stacey crinkled her nose, "Couldn't we just have a sleepover between us four? You know, prank calls and oh! Even prank your uncle and Cody...well, not Cody," she smirked, everyone else just shaking their head at the woman. It was well known now that Stacey had developed a small crush on Cody...well everyone beside Cody and Stacey.

"You know I actually prefer that idea a whole lot better," Donna agreed.

Minerva shook her head, tired of having to constantly deal with her friends dislike of Marisol. Yes, she knew Marisol wasn't the kindest woman out there...but she was family. She knew she and Marisol never shared a good relationship but Minerva saw this time as an opportunity to recreate that relationship and morph into something positive. Martha, Donna, and Stacey saw the opposite. Marisol didn't care of any relationship with Minerva, she was just following orders of her aunt Sophia to convert Minerva into the quiet, meek little daughter Sophia wanted and needed. Plus, and a big reason too, Marisol simply disliked Minerva for some unknown reason.

"Marisol invited us and I want to go," Minerva announced, "Now, I'm going and that's that. You're all free to stay back."

But the three women just sighed and shook their heads; if Minerva went _of course_ they would go too. They would _never_ leave Marisol alone with Minerva. They made the mistake of allowing Minerva to walk on her own the first day she returned and look what happened...Marisol had implanted the ideas that she should win back her mother's love by doing whatever she wanted. Due to Minerva's weakened state, she'd blatantly agreed.

"C'mon, let's go look through your closet to see what you can wear for your date," Martha linked arms with Minerva and led her into the hallway.

"How did you know it was the Doctor Minerva was going on a date with?" Donna asked Stacey once Minerva was out of hearing shot.

"I bumped into the idiot earlier in the day and apparently he'd scored a date with a girl...so then I smacked him senseless because he was already going out with Minerva," Stacey shrugged while Donna smirked, she definitely liked Stacey's attitude, "And then he explained that Minerva was his date so I apologized. I even offered to help him get dressed properly for his date."

"But I thought you said you had to babysit Tamara tonight," Donna recalled.

"I'll be taking Tamara into his blue box as a surprise for her."

"Why are you helping him dress up?"

"Because if he's going to play a human he's going to do it right," Stacey put a hand on her hip, "And that means no pinstriped suits or long trench coats."

"Have I mentioned I like you?" Donna asked.

Stacy shrugged, "Once or twice," Donna chuckled, "So, I'll be off to collect my little sister and then hurry off to go help the Doctor. I'll be back tomorrow for...ew, Marisol's party."

Donna sighed, not to keen on attending the party either, "Guess so."

But if Minerva was going then so would they.

~ 0 ~

"Finished!" Martha declared and stepped back from Minerva, "After you're done with the dress do you think I could use it?"

Minerva chuckled and turned to see herself in the mirror, "All yours, Martha."

"Minerva, I believe your date has arrived," Isadora poked her head into Minerva's bedroom, smiling softly at her granddaughter's clear excitement. Lately, they hadn't seen too much of it.

"Is he?" Minerva spun around, her hair flying all over her shoulders and arms, "Tell Uncle Aaron to be nice!" she quickly warned, grabbing her necklace with the funny symbols and fastening it around her neck.

Isadora chuckled, "He's not here. He's with your father."

"Good, because I don't want then to scare him off."

"Wow, you really like him, don't you?" Martha raised an eyebrow, feeling like she was seeing snippets of the old Minerva back.

"I don't know," Minerva turned around again, now wearing her necklace, "It's only been a couple of hours since we've seen each other and already I feel like it's been years! I was a bit nervous and honestly afraid after he insisted to have lunch with me and even this date...but now I feel like I _have_ to see him again."

"Well he's out waiting for you in the living room," Isadora gestured, "If you want to see..."

Minerva had already dashed out of the room.

Martha laughed lightly as she went over to Minerva's vanity desk to clean up, "You know, I think she may be a bit excited, I think...but I'm not sure."

Isadora laughed and walked out of the room. Martha shook her head and moved several of the make up back in its drawer. She happened to look up to where Minerva's pin board hung on the wall, filled with many unfinished drawings. Minerva had taken custom of drawing out the small snippets of her memories. Martha and Donna had noticed that mostly all Minerva's drawings were of her alien travels with the Doctor. It seemed like while her mind was trying keep away those memories, her subconscious fought to be heard.

There were drawings of New York from Martha's time, where they met the Daleks and fought. There were pictures of a train, according to Donna the Orient Express where they took Minerva for her graduation. There were even drawings from before she and Donna had been around; Rose Tyler's time. There was a drawing of New Earth with a hospital and a car. While all her drawings were fairly good and very descriptive...there were no people. She was missing herself, the Doctor and the respective companions they had been with during those times.

~ 0 ~

"Hi John," Minerva sheepishly came into the living room, her hands in front of her, a faint blush already bragging on her cheeks.

The Doctor blinked when he saw her...his hearts wanting to break and speed up at the same time. The dress she had on was a laced-up, black dress with three-quarter sleeves that reached above her knees. It had a lace cover like a sheath that formed a deep V-neckline while a silky layer underneath that covered her chest.

It was the same dress she'd worn on their first date on the Titanic...the one where she'd died...the one where she initiated a relationship with him.

Fate was playing a cruel game with him.

"You look very beautiful," he complimented as he reached for Minerva's hand and gave it a kiss on its back.

Minerva smiled a little, "Thanks. You look good yourself," she looked him over.

For the first time, the Doctor had completely abandoned his suits and coats. Stacey had forced him into trousers, a thin, light blue jumper with a darker blue blazer over it. He had grumbled to Stacey that it was itchy and that it was not good and that he wanted his suit back...

...so Stacey smacked him upside the head.

That was the end of that argument.

"Thank you but no one could ever beat you," the Doctor replied to Minerva, "Shall we go?"

She nodded and looked back to her grandmother for approval, "Grandma?"

"I want her back by ten," she looked directly at the Doctor, allowing him to see her playful look.

"Grandma," Minerva scolded lightly, "I'm eighteen-"

"Don't care, back by ten," Isadora wagged a finger.

"That's just fine," the Doctor assured her and Minerva. He linked arms with Minerva and headed out the door.

"I am so sorry for my grandmother," Minerva began as they walked on the street, "My dad is a bit sick so he can't come around a lot and my uncle isn't here to do the whole protective thing since he got an apartment with his friend and...well, I'm the last granddaughter and daughter."

"It's fine, don't worry," the Doctor patted her hand, "I like that they care so much about you."

"Sometimes a bit too much if you asked me. Especially because of my accident. Lately, I feel like they're smothering me."

"Well tonight will be a complete distraction. Tell me, do you mind if we walk instead of drive?"

She shook her head, "I don't mind at all. I actually prefer to walk. Less pollution and more talking."

"My best combination," he grinned.

"Great," she whispered, staring at him with a fond smile.

She bursting with excitement to spend a lovely night with him, discarding the time they'd met. Yes, it was hours, but it was like she'd always known him. For once, she wasn't going to overly think about it like her mother always told her to do. No, this time she was just going to go with the flow and have fun. She liked 'John' and hoped he felt something for her too...

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hola! What a week...a freaking hot week, those who live in CA know what I'm talking about. I personally think hell is cooler than it is right now -.-

But anyways, hope you like this chapter! Felt bad that the last chapter was sort of a Minerva-lite chapter and so now we have a bit more of Minerva than the Doctor... _and_ we finally got a little view of _Liv_ throughout her life :o

Next chapter will be a direct continuation and have equal parts of our couple! Next chapter is another of my favorites but it's sad but it's also happy but it's...agh! You'll just have to watch and see what happens ;)

 _For Reviews:_

Thank you so much! I like OC's with a mystery so I figured why not make mine with one too lol And yay, thanks for that. Hopefully I'll have Grier's story up sometime this year :)

Oh, don't we all just hate spellcheck? It's a pain in the behind! And thanks, glad to know my plot twist was a genuine surprise ^.^

Yeah, I view the amnesia as what the Doctor said in the last chapter "a reset button". It's like Minerva's body is getting ready to start from zero and begin recovering and turning back into a Moontsay! And sorry, the Doctor didn't quite return ASAP in Minerva's time, but still...2 weeks beats 12 years right? ._. Right, she loved him so much she did that whole chaotic arch & regeneration that could've well left her dead . Oh that Minerva (or Kaeya as she was at that point), impulsive from the beginning! Lol, yeah, even if Minerva can't remember her heart is right there ready to make her at least know that someone is missing! And as for Sophia and Marisol? Oh dear...may want to read the next chapter just to see what those two will try...

*tries to catch confetti* Thanks for your wow's lmao they're so cute 3 Oh...I'm not evil! I'm just...sneaky! Yeah, let's go with that .-. Ah yes, we're nearing Amy & Rory's travels and I can't wait! It's fun...it's a bit problematic...but Minerva will be close to them soon enough :)

Right? Lovely ole amnesia...hopefully, things will get better...or will it...? Nah, of course it'll get betterish...or will it...okay I'll stop now, *whispers* sorry!

So, next chapter there's kissing, a party, and a special little moment that'll make you go 'awwwww' and possibly melt ;)

Until next time!


	15. Fight for Love

The Doctor had taken Minerva into a restaurant that was themed with lanterns. It seemed fitting for their relationship as lanterns seemed to be anywhere they went as a couple. The restaurant had a back garden where more tables filled the area, all around a squared platform where people could dance. They had opted for a small dance while they waited for their food to come in, their table just beside the platform. As the Doctor set his arm around Minerva's waist and moved her hand up to his shoulder she saw something else...

For a second there, she and him were in a white room with a painting canvas behind...and she wore a Chinese _cheongasm_?

"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked her, concerned when she'd made that 'thinking' face. It had been happening several times since they arrived at the restaurant and he was almost certain she was beginning to remember their moments together.

"Hm?" Minerva blinked and everything returned to normal, "Yup, just fine," she flashed a smile, "Head's just a bit jumbled up and stuff. But I'm great," the Doctor didn't press for her to continue and simply swayed them to the music, "You're not that bad," Minerva remarked after a moment.

"I had lessons from the best," he smiled at her, recalling their moments in China and even as John Smith. Minerva had been right, the next time after her lessons he _definitely_ had asked a pretty woman to dance with him.

He dipped her down, her hair nearly touching the floor...and then Minerva had another moment.

She imagined them in a fancy ship..wearing the same clothes except he wore a black tuxedo, doing the same exact thing.

* * *

 _"You know, I should've done this the last couple of times we've danced..." the Doctor said as he had dipped her._

 _"Done what?" Minerva whispered, ignoring the fact her hair nearly touched the floor._

 _The Doctor raised his eyebrows, his playful grin fading as he pressed his lips onto hers, slowly bringing them back up, their kiss continuing without a break._

* * *

Minerva blushed fiercely as the Doctor pulled her back up, now in present-time, ending face-to-face...close enough for a kiss...

"Are you okay?" the Doctor whispered to her, unable to move back from her. He was just _inches_ away from her lips...he could maybe just...peck her lips or something...give her a small, teeny kiss...

NO.

He couldn't.

Because to Minerva, this was their first date and a sudden kiss wouldn't mean the same thing as it did for him. And that alone was just too painful.

"Yup," Minerva mumbled, her eyes giving his lips a quick glance as well. She thought of the small imagination moment she'd had and...well...became curious...

What was she doing? This was their first date and she wasn't sure if he even had actual feelings for her. A first date was like a trial, to see if anyone felt anything and well, he hadn't done anything besides hold her hand and lots of people did that. She couldn't ruin anything by suddenly kissing him. She'd have to be patient...and see where things go.

~ 0 ~

Zohar was in her house, sitting in her bed of her bedroom with a pile of journals all around her bed while she currently read one in her hands. The Doctor had appeared earlier in the day and had caused such a commotion among the Moontsays. Once the Doctor had declared that their princess had survived, the Moontsays had garnered so much _hope_. A spur of happiness like nothing Zohar had ever seen since the war had emerged from each member.

Their princess had survived.

And if she survived, then the Silver Monsoon would rise once again and they could all return to their true home.

Without knowing it, Minerva had already become a beacon of hope for her people.

But, the Doctor had went ahead and explained the situation of Kaeya/Minerva and asked for anyone that knew of the regeneration and/or the chameleon arch to step forwards and give up their information. Most of the group hadn't really trusted him due to his origin but Zohar had stepped in and backed him up. While they were curious to know why a Time Lord was in the mess of their species, they had agreed to do anything to help their princess recover. Well, it'd taken hours to get through every last member but it turned out several ancestors had tried out regeneration. The Doctor's purpose was to gather as much information as he could to help Minerva in her transformation process. Some of the group had even offered to go back to the Monsoon and help Mayar to build a new kingdom, for their princess. Because eventually, it would become home once again.

For the meantime...she would have to read every last journal they'd filled up because apparently the Doctor had to go resolve an issue with Minerva back on Earth. She had some of the work from Mayar, apparently collected before the Doctor had returned to the community of Moontsays on the planet, and so she was trying to compare and contrast what had been found.

She just hoped the alien essence would keep itself out of trouble in the meantime they figured out how to place it back in its body.

~ 0 ~

Donna walked into Minerva's room with a basket of laundry. It was her turn to do laundry but Donna figured she could let the girl slide because of her little date and so went ahead to do the laundry herself. She was more than surprised to find the blue light inside the room, in front of Minerva's drawing pinboard.

"Oi, you're that light..." she closed the door quick before Isadora and Martha saw, "...you're her, aren't you? Kaeya...well, Minerva," she set the basket on the floor and approached the light. It swarmed Donna in a circle, letting Donna feel it's ice prickle her skin, "Oooh, how do you live like that? It's so cold," Donna hugged herself as she shivered.

The light returned to its place in front of Donna and hummed.

"Have you ever considered taking a different path way with this whole transformation?" Donna asked, "Like...I don't know, not fully going into Minerva? Because I know that once you do, Minerva won't be able to leave that Monsoon planet for a very long time. What would happen if you did that? Not go fully into her? Is that possible?"

The light just stood there...no hums...no anything, as if we're _thinking_.

"Just a thought," Donna eyed it cautiously, wondering if she'd offended it due to its sudden silence. She didn't want to hear from Minerva after the process was done about how she'd offended her essence. Perhaps it was just best to stay out of that.

~ 0 ~

"That was really fun," Minerva remarked joyfully as she and the Doctor walked up the front steps of her grandmother's porch.

"Really?" the Doctor held onto her hand as they walked the last step up. He didn't want to let her go and have to walk away from his Clever Girl. He'd much rather just steal her and take her back to the TARDIS, the box of wonders she used to say.

Minerva nodded and turned to him, a bit shaken to see how close they were. It seemed like they'd been a bit too close throughout their date and yet...nothing happened. Minerva wondered if her patience was a bit thin due to her crazy imagination moments that pushed her to want a kiss or something from the man. But, nothing. He was sweet, nonetheless, and very respectful, but she just wanted a bit more than hand holding and hugs...just something that would tell her if he felt something for her.

"Would you like to go out tomorrow, then?" the Doctor asked, struggling to look down at her and not kiss those tempting lips of hers that were right below his.

"I can't," she sighed, "My cousin has this birthday party tomorrow night and I said I would go."

"How about in the afternoon then?"

She immediately perked up and nodded, "That would be great!"

"Alright then, it's settled. I'll be around three tomorrow," and with great struggle, he leaned down to kiss only her cheek.

Minerva closed her eyes at the sensation her body gave to his kiss. And while it was nice, she couldn't help but want... _more_.

"See you tomorrow," the Doctor whispered, half-smiling at her.

She silently nodded and turned away, taking a couple steps towards the door. But she felt like this just couldn't be the end of their date. She wanted more...and she kept thinking of the kiss in her imagination moment and what it would feel like.

Screw being patient.

She spun around and rushed back to the Doctor, not allowing a word out of him when she reached on her toes and gave him a surprise kiss. Her hands used his arms to sustain herself on her toes and keep their kiss. When she pulled back, she smiled at the dazed look the Doctor wore.

"Goodnight," she whispered, now fully content with the night.

She turned once more and headed for the door. However, the Doctor's restrains had now been fully broken...and he wanted more.

Minerva let out a small yelp when she felt his hand on her arm pull her straight back into his arms and onto his lips. This time he would not refrain from kissing her the way he needed to kiss her, not unless she said to stop. But it seemed like Minerva didn't mind as she had started to respond to their second kiss. The Doctor's arms wrapped around her waist while her hands moved up to his shoulders, bunching up his jacket in her fingers as they stumbled back against the wall with a thud.

~ 0 ~

Donna and Martha were sitting in the living room, both reading their respective books when they heard a thud sound coming from the wall beside the entrance door. They looked up and glanced at each other, Isadora poking her head from the kitchen at the same time.

"What was that?" she asked the women curiously.

"Um, us," Donna started coughing loudly, looking at Martha for some aid.

"Yeah, yeah, us!" Martha joined in on the loud coughing.

Isadora raised an eyebrow at them but shrugged and returned to the kitchen.

"Those two sure don't waste time," Martha mumbled afterwards.

"Amnesia or no amnesia one thing is for sure, they'll always end up snogging," Donna flipped the page of her book, rolling her eyes at their odd friends.

~ 0 ~

Outside, the Doctor and Minerva were barely pulling away from each other. Both wore dazed faces this time and we're out of breath from their moment. Now that the Doctor was thinking rationally, he became nervous that he may have pushed Minerva too far. For her, it'd been their first date and who knows what she may have expected!

"Wow," Minerva whispered, sheepishly smiling. She was now pretty sure he felt something for her and couldn't be more happy about it.

The Doctor smiled back, completely relieved to hear her happiness. He cupped her face in his hands and then leaned down, Minerva awaiting another kiss only to feel a brush on her nose. She opened her eyes to see him giving her an Eskimo kiss. She liked it and did the same to his nose, both chuckling afterwards. For a split second, the Doctor felt like nothing had changed between.

"Thank you for everything," Minerva sighed in content, "You've made me feel truly happy in such a short time."

For the first time she didn't feel so _empty_ inside. That horrible hole she had felt the day she came back from the hospital had disappeared just like that. She had no idea how that happened but she was glad it did, and she was glad it was because of her fantastic date.

"Tomorrow, then?" the Doctor asked, hoping she'd still want to see him again.

"Yes, three o clock," she nodded.

"See you then," he said quietly.

"See you," she whispered. She quickly Eskimo kissed him again, giggling as she hurried into her house.

"Well, it seems like someone had fun tonight," Martha remarked when Minerva entered the room.

"Mm, I think you mean it _sounded_ like fun," Donna corrected as she read from her book and pointed to the wall beside the door, exactly where the pair had kissed.

Minerva blushed but still went to hug her two friends, completely ecstatic, "It went AMAZING!" she laughed.

~ 0 ~

"What exactly are you playing at, spaceman?" Donna's voice echoed throughout the console room, "You're not supposed to be going on dates with Minerva. You're supposed to be figuring out how to help her best."

The Doctor was fixing his tie around his neck as he listened to the confused ginger. As soon as he returned to the TARDIS, he had thrown those clothes Stacey made him wear and returned to his comfortable pinstriped suit and converse.

"Can't I have some fun, Donna?" he asked, genuinely serious, "You and Martha get to see Minerva every day at any time of the day and I have to be far away working. I miss her and I thought maybe I could use a date with her."

"I understand, don't worry. I was just a bit confused to hear you had another date with her tomorrow. When are you getting back to work?"

"This date wasn't exactly a work session but tomorrow will be. I want to see how much Minerva can remember about me and of her alien past. I saw it tonight Donna. She remembered snippets of us together, I know she did. If I can provoke that, then what's to say I can't make her remember her alien memories hm?"

"Isn't that a bit impossible?"

"Not impossible just a bit unlikely. Wouldn't hurt to give her a head-start before I hand her back the Monsoon necklace."

Donna sighed, "You do what you think is best. But now that you've entered Minerva's life as a human again, don't you dare leave her. That'll truly devastate her."

"I don't plan on leaving her, never did."

"Good, now goodnight spaceman."

"Night Donna."

The Doctor took a deep sigh after the phone had been hung up. He hadn't admitted to anyone that he didn't want to give Minerva the Monsoon necklace back just yet. He knew that once Minerva started to remember her true identity, she would be hit with a massive spur of emotions, emotions that could kill her. Not only would she be remembering her original childhood memories with her biological parents, the moments he and her had shared on their favorite iced lake on the Monsoon...she would also remember how her parents had died, her entire family except for her and Mayar had died, her kingdom had died. He knew what that kind of pain did to a person and he didn't want to let Minerva feel even an echo of that pain.

But in the end...he wouldn't have a choice, would he?

~ 0 ~

"Yes, Marisol, I understand, I know what I'm supposed to wear tonight," Minerva held the phone to her ear while she eyed the hideous brown dress that laid on her bed.

It was awful and she wanted to be no where near it. Brown made her look really bad, did her mother not understand her? But...if got her one step closer to getting her forgiveness...then so be it.

"I'm glad you understand," Marisol said smugly, "And I assume you'll be coming alone with your two very...pleasurable, friends right?"

"You're forgetting it's three," Minerva corrected as she tried on a headband.

She could not figure out what to wear for her next date which was in less than twenty minutes.

"Right, the three lonely women-"

"Martha's engaged," Minerva cut in.

"Right, well, that's the only one that's managed to snag a man. But what about you, dear? All alone, am I right?"

"Actually I met-"

"It's alright, dear. There's no shame in being alone."

Minerva sighed and tried again to get a word in, "Actually, there's-"

"I knew I got all the looks so it's no surprise of your status-"

"I am not alone!" Minerva suddenly shouted, finally getting the attention, "I actually had a date last night and it went so fine that I'm seeing him again in twenty minutes..."

Minerva felt like she should stop right there.

"And he just so happens to be accompanying me to your party..."

She should stop.

"...because he is now my _boyfriend_."

And she didn't stop.

Minerva shut her eyes at the monumental screw up she just committed.

"Well, I look forward to meeting your new little boyfriend," Marisol spat and hung up.

Minerva put the phone down on the desk and played that conversation over. Oh yes, she had messed up _big_ time. _Why_ did she had to say all that? WHY!?

~ 0 ~

"Personally I think London is pretty nice despite it's habit of getting into alien trouble," the Doctor said, more like rambled on, to Minerva as the two walked in the park, hand-in-hand, "Think you might want to go one day?" he looked down at Minerva to see she wasn't paying attention and instead staring at the ground, "Minerva?"

"Hm?" she looked up, blinking as she snapped out of her distraction.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, even though he already knew there was except he couldn't just straight away ask since that they were simply "dating" and he wasn't supposed to know her like the back of his hand.

"No, well...no," Minerva shook her head, both nervous and embarrassed of what the problem was, "It's nothing."

"Yeah, sorry, not buying it," he stopped walking and turned to her completely, "You want to tell me what's wrong?"

She bit her lip as she considered his possible reactions to her mistake. But then she thought of what Marisol was going to say about it and so figured whatever he would say would be far less horrible than Marisol, "It's just, I did something stupid. So incredibly stupid and it involves you. I sort of...may have...accidentally...told my cousin Marisol that I had a boyfriend and was going to be bringing him to her party tonight...meaning you," she pointed with a shaky finger.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, surprised by the news. Although he did feel his hearts skip their beats at the familiarization with the word.

"I know we literally just met each other and stuff and I shouldn't have done what I did but now my cousin is expecting to meet my boyfriend which I don't exactly have. But don't worry, I'll have to set her straight because lying isn't okay and you don't deserve to be put into this situation-"

The Doctor had grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a sudden kiss lasting several minutes. When he pulled away, he brushed a strand of Minerva's hair away from her face and smiled, "I would love to take you to that party."

She blinked, partially hazed from that kiss, "Really?"

"Yes, would you like to be my date for tonight?"

She started smiling, practically beaming, "Yes!" she threw her hands around his neck and hugged him.

"That's the Minerva I like to see," the Doctor laughed as he set her down to her feet.

He realized that probably may have sounded odd seeing as for Minerva they'd only met yesterday. But then again she was too excited to notice anything strange.

"It's a masquerade themed party," she began explaining, even taking the Doctor's hand when they began walking, "So wear a mask if you'd like, though it's not mandatory."

"Are you going to wear one?"

"Probably not," she shook her head, avoiding the topic of her wardrobe as it was just plain hideous.

"Then I won't either."

Minerva looked at him suddenly, a fond smile on her face, "Thank you so much for this."

"For what?" the Doctor was confused.

He was just taking her out on another date where he'd hopefully get to dance with her, hold hands, and maybe even kiss here and there. Plus, he'd finally get to snap at Marisol and Sophia for their behavior while Minerva's been down. On the contrary, he should be thanking _her_ for this.

"Going along with this," Minerva sighed, "I know it's probably rude but it just came out of my mouth without thinking. I love my cousin, I do but...for some reason, she just doesn't like me. I don't know why, I've never been rude to her or anything. Lately I've been trying to get on her good side by going along with everything she does, suppressing my actual thoughts and comments just so she wouldn't be irritated. But today she got under my skin and...I lashed out and I brought you into it. I'm impulsive like that, I'm sorry."

"I'm not," the Doctor shrugged, surprising her, "You shouldn't try to please someone who isn't worth it. I don't ever want you to feel like you can't say what you actually think or like. So, I say, that tonight, we give Marisol a little lesson. Does she have a boyfriend?"

"No," Minerva shook her head.

"Excellent, then guess what couple is going to have the best time of their lives?"

"Us?" Minerva pointed at each other.

The Doctor nearly melted at her adorable confused face, "Yes, us," he cupped her face into his hands and stepped closer to her, "Because we're going to dance, hug each other, laugh, have fun, and kiss. By us having fun we'll irritate Marisol and that'll be her lesson."

"I like that plan," she blushed with a small smile.

"I _love_ it," he leaned down and kissed her.

~ 0 ~

Minerva was sitting on her bed, finishing up a new drawing on her sketchpad. For some reason, she was drawing a iced lake on a snowy landscape with a big, silver moon in the sky. She didn't understand why she was drawing it but her hand seemed to move on its own as she started drawing a figure. That alone was shocking as she never drew figures anymore. All her drawings lately were of strange dreams she had where she saw different scenarios that she could swear took place in other worlds. But every time she drew those dreams out she could only remember the places, not the actual people. And she knew there were people in those dreams, she just did.

But right now, she was finishing the figure on the iced lake. It was of a woman with short hair and long, silver gown with long silver streaks on her arms. Minerva held the pad up and stared at it endlessly, feeling like..there was more to that...that woman...she felt...familiar. She knew if she just looked hard enough she could figure out what it was that drew her to it.

"Alright, I got my dress!" Martha burst into her room, ending Minerva's concentration. Martha held a purple dress in her arms, "Whaddya think?"

Minerva set her pad down and looked up at the long gown she held. She blinked rapidly when she imagined Martha in the street outside of a building, both she and herself wearing purple dresses.

"Minerva?" Martha frowned when she saw the distant look her best friend wore.

Quickly, Minerva returned to normal, "Sorry, yeah. It looks wonderful."

Martha smiled, "Think so? I happened to have brought this from home in case my job had some important occasion like it usually does. So it's masquerade material?"

Minerva nodded, "It's beautiful."

"What about you?" Martha raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk that Minerva hadn't seen yet.

Minerva sighed and looked at the brown dress on the hanger beside her closet, "My mother would like that dress so...yeah."

"Oh I don't think so," Stacey strolled inside the room with Donna, both holding shopping bags.

"What are you doing?" Minerva asked as Martha went over to her brown dress and brought it back.

"This dress is no longer available," Martha ripped up the dress's sleeves.

Minerva gasped and jumped to her feet, "Martha!"

"Oh, what a shame," Donna pretended to pout as she shook her head.

"Luckily enough, Donna and I had gone shopping this afternoon and picked something up for you," Stacey waved the bag she held.

"This isn't funny, my mother is going to be angry," Minerva rubbed her forehead, already hearing the yells of Sophia in her head, "In fact, she'll kill me for this."

"No Minerva, it's not funny how your mother and cousin treat you. It's not funny how Marisol insults you all the time and you don't say a thing back to defend yourself," Donna said serious, Stacey and Martha nodding in agreement, "We're sick and tired of this and we're not going to stand for it anymore."

"We phoned your father and asked for a loan," Martha let the brown dress drop on the floor, "And he was more than glad to buy his daughter a dress for the party."

"He was even kind enough to allow us to buy masks for us all," Donna added.

"But more importantly, he told us to buy the prettiest dress on the block for you," Stacey started pulling out a long black gown, "Which we did."

Minerva just looked at all three with a soft look, her eyes spell watering up.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked, frowning.

"You guys are seriously the best," she sniffled, "Why do you all care for me so much?"

"Because you've cared for us in the past and we love you," Donna said. At one point in their lives, Minerva had been there for them all until they felt better and now this was their opportunity to pay her back.

"And because we all seriously hate Marisol and want to her to be furious when we make you look better than her at her own party," Stacey added with a wide smirk.

"Mhm," Martha and Donna agreed, making Minerva chuckle lightly through her tears.

~ 0 ~

To say that Marisol Souza was angry would be an understatement.

She was fuming, she was murder-angry, she was...well...about to kill someone, and her primary victim was a woman with very long hair she wasn't even supposed to have anymore!

It only made everyone, save Minerva, laugh as they furthered into the ballroom. Minerva was beyond nervous and terrified of what Marisol and her mother would say about her choice of outfit. She herself wasn't sure about the outfit but everyone else seemed to like it.

She wore a high-low, black dress that was ruffled from the waist down and was a tad short in the front for her liking. Not only that, but there was also a really deep V-neckline in front and this time there was no layer underneath to cover her up. Granted, nothing that shouldn't be seen was visible but still...Minerva fidgeted under her dress. It was sleeveless with only small straps going around her shoulders, a silver and red bejeweled band around her waist. She accompanied it with red heels, her silver necklace with the 'funny symbols' as she said, and a red mask that covered her eyes. Her hair was left down and curled completely, only a two small twists connecting behind with a small rubber band.

"She's staring at me," Minerva whispered to Martha as she felt Marisol's burning eyes on her.

"So? Let her," Martha smirked.

"She owes us big time," Donna added.

"Yeah but the one who's going to be in trouble is _me_ ," Minerva trembled, "They're literally going to kill me."

"They'll have to go through my dead body first," the Doctor's voice came from behind.

Immediately, Minerva felt relief wash over with his voice. She spun around, taking off her mask and smiling softly at him, "You came," she whispered.

"Wow..." the Doctor looked her over, blinking with wide eyes.

Minerva rubbed her arm and blushed. Now she felt extremely exposed thanks to the dress and she could only hope he wouldn't react too badly about it.

Donna went ahead and moved beside the Doctor, "Try closing your mouth, spaceman," she whispered.

The Doctor shook his head and looked at Minerva again. He couldn't stop staring at her! He saw a dress Minerva would probably never wear and she looked...gorgeous. He was being tested in several ways that very much reminded him of his old Clever Girl with her memories. He didn't even realize he missed her teases as well! But apart from that, he could also see a genuine gleam, a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn't seen for so long. Even before she'd fallen ill in the hospital, she suffered from her mother's blame, her father's pending illness and her increasing guilt of Olivia's death...that little sparkle had gone missing. And tonight, standing in front of her, he could see that she was genuinely happy again and she radiated in beauty because of it.

"I know I said I wouldn't wear a mask..." Minerva stepped up, the Doctor doing the same. Minerva looked at the red mask in her hand and apologetically smiled to him, "...sorry."

"Don't worry about it," he took the mask from her and placed it in front of her eyes for a moment, "A goddess in hiding."

She lightly chuckled and pushed the mask down, "I prefer being the woman on a date with you."

He grinned like an idiot and leaned down to kiss her.

From afar, Marisol Souza fumed and stormed up to her aunt, "Aunt Sophia," she spun the brunette woman around, ignoring the disapproval on Sophia's face, "Have you seen what your daughter is wearing? Much less _who_ she's with?"

Sophia looked to the side and saw Minerva kissing a man...and as she looked harder she realized who it was. She set her glass down on the table beside them and turned to Marisol, "Well, I thought we were rid of that Doctor the moment Minerva fell into the coma."

"She's not wearing what you said she had to wear, and she didn't cut her hair!" Marisol ignored her aunt, "Everyone is looking at her!"

"Marisol, please do focus on what really matters," Sophia rolled her eyes, "I need Minerva to stay the way she was, her emotions staying on a constant calm and quiet. That Doctor makes her feel things that could get all of us killed. We have to put an end to that relationship."

"Why do you say that?" Marisol took Sophia's drink into her hand, drowning it down into her throat, "You always say weird stuff like that. Like Minerva's emotions actually control the world, ha," she glared at her cousin.

"Minerva is not what she seems, Marisol," Sophia said, preferring to leave her niece out of the alien matters.

"I'll say, she's a little conniving liar. She thinks she can waltz in with that innocent little face of hers and steal the spotlight?"

Minerva was always the center of attention of their family, Marisol thought. While Minerva was just a kid, an annoying little kid, it was she, Marisol, that had always triumphed and been better...and yet no one paid attention. Marisol firmly believed that Minerva was a fake; that behind that 'innocent' face was a manipulative woman that made people feel sorry for her and therefore receive anything she wanted. Minerva was nothing but an attention-hogger. Marisol recalled the family reunions they had, from the Souza side, and felt her blood boil as she recalled everyone cooing at Minerva just because of her stupid eyes and her stupid silky hair. Everyone loved Minerva..and Marisol _hated_ it.

It was not only at home where she had to continuously listen of the great ole Minerva...school was no change either. When Minerva was upgraded into several of her classes, higher division, Minerva just automatically knew everything. She showed different opinions, ways of seeing things...ways that were not normal. And everyone, being awed and a bit confused, seemed to be more and more intrigued by her little cousin.

That would not do.

Marisol wouldn't allow Minerva to get all the attention. She started making remarks about her little cousin, making people see just how strange she was. She liked to think she had pulled off the blinds from everyone's eyes and allowed them to see Minerva as she really was: a strange, abnormal girl that shouldn't have friends.

It worked divinely.

Then after Olivia's death, it seemed like the blinds from her entire family had fallen as well. Everyone saw Minerva as she really was then. She wasn't innocent as she played to be, she was a killer. She drove her sister to her death bed with her words and attitude. Everyone to this day saw the real Minerva.

Marisol wasn't about to let those new friends of Minerva's, and that 'boyfriend', blind everyone again. She would do anything to make sure Minerva remained as she was.

"What do I have to do?" Marisol asked her aunt, staring at Minerva who had now taken a seat with her 'friends'.

"It's going to involve you and that man," Sophia declared, "We need to get Minerva to see he's not worth it. We get him out of the picture, Minerva goes back to being the girl I can morph."

"One broken heart..." Marisol bit her lip as she switches gazes from Minerva to the Doctor, "...coming up."

"Not yet," Sophia grabbed Marisol's arm before she left, "We need to time it perfectly. We'll only have one chance."

Marisol returned to her place and nodded, "How do we do this?"

~ 0 ~

"Dad!" Minerva hugged her father the moment he had walked into the ballroom, "You're here!"

Nicolas's heart warmed up at his daughter's hug/

He knew that this was the reason why he'd fallen ill in the first place. To have shut out his second daughter had made his life a living hell. His conscious ate him up and up until he couldn't take it anymore. He realized how cruel he'd been with Minerva and would regret it for the rest of his life. And yet, here was Minerva, acting as if none of that had ever happened and was giving him a warm hug.

"Of course I came, your mother would have killed me," Nicolas pulled back and whispered, "She likes to threaten me to get me out of the house now."

"She's with Marisol if you want..." Minerva looked around for her mother.

Nicolas turned her back to him and shook his head, "I want to spend this evening with good people. That would be you and your friends and your grandmother."

"Grandma said she wasn't going to make it because she's got plans with some friends but uncle Aaron and Cody are over there," Minerva pointed to a table not too far away where Aaron and Cody were conversing.

"Excellent, but now I do have to point out you are wearing a dress that is a bit too revealing," he gave her a sharp look, feeling that overprotective father sense wash over. He had no right of course but now he would embrace it and actually listen. He would care for Minerva and if allowed, he would try to be a real father.

"Mr. Souza, you gave us orders to find the prettiest dress for your daughter and we did," Martha remarked.

"Well, yes, but...did it have to be this one?"

"I think she looks great," the Doctor remarked as he stared at Minerva with a smile.

"I had a feeling you would," Nicolas mumbled and shook his head.

"Oh, dad, I almost forgot! This is my date," Minerva exclaimed, unaware that her father was very well informed of the situation, "John Smith."

"Nice to meet you, Nicolas Souza," he shook the Doctor's hand, just going along as the Doctor had instructed earlier, "Now if you'll excuse me, think I'll sit down with Aaron. I still feel a bit fatigued."

"Do you need anything?" Minerva quickly asked, rushing to his side, "A drink?"

"I just need you to go have some fun," he patted her hand, "But drinking is off limits," he warned her and the Doctor.

"I prefer a nice glass of milk," the Doctor said and Minerva laughed.

"He's a keeper," Nicolas pointed.

Minerva moved back to the Doctor and nodded, "Oh yes he is."

Nicolas smiled and headed off.

"Would you care to dance?" the Doctor asked Minerva.

"I have been waiting for you to ask all this time," Minerva grinned and took his hand, the two rushing off for a dance.

Martha shook her head with a smile, those two would get into their moment and forget everyone else. She turned to Donna to suggest they go get a drink in the meantime Stacey showed up as the woman was running late. But for some reason, Donna kept looking back at the entrance.

"Everything okay there?" Martha moved closer to the ginger.

"Hm?" Donna stopped looking back and turned to Martha, "Yes...I think so."

"What's wrong?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy," Donna whispered, "But I think something's following me."

Martha raised an eyebrow, "Following you?"

Donna nodded and once again looked at the entrance, "I know it sounds weird but all day it's like there's something behind my shoulder, something just...watching me."

Martha looked around and caught a faint glimpse of a blue light roaming the ceiling, "Does this thing happen to have no body?"

"Huh?" Donna followed Martha's gaze up and frowned upon seeing the light, "You think that's following me?"

"Maybe you just think it's following you and in reality it's protecting Minerva," Martha reasoned.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with me," Donna sighed, feeling a bit ridiculous for believing it was following _her_.

~ 0 ~

"I think we should sit down, don't you?" the Doctor asked Minerva while the two danced.

Well, really they were barely moving to the slow song playing. He was holding Minerva by the waist while her hands were around his neck. She was impossibly close to him, her head resting on his shoulder. It had been long since he held her that close to him, to feel her warmth around him. Granted, the only thing missing was her memories but this was fine too seeing as she was starting to remember bits of their relationship. She was on her way again.

"Mm, do we have to?" Minerva closed her eyes, savoring the moment between them.

"Don't you want to rest your lovely feet?"

"No."

"Don't you want to go talk to your friends?"

"I did that earlier."

He faintly smiled, "Your father?"

"Tomorrow."

"Your uncle?"

"I'll text him."

The Doctor chuckled and kissed her hair, "You're very adorable."

She lifted her head up and grinned innocently, "I like to be told so."

"You don't even have a phone," he tapped her nose, "How about we sit down and eat something, yeah?"

She sighed, "Alright, fine...but I'm getting us some drinks."

"Milk?"

She rolled her eyes, "You don't have to do that just because of what my dad said you know. I don't really like alcohol."

"I wasn't lying, I don't like alcohol very much, and you're not allowed to drink it anyways so..."

"Fine, I'll get us some lemonade?" she tried.

He swayed his head and considered it, "Alright, fine."

She leaned up and gently kissed him, "Don't talk to any pretty girls, okay?"

"Does the one I'm talking to right now count?"

She beamed, blushing, "I like you..."

The Doctor was ready to say 'I love you' but thankfully caught himself and smiled, "I like you too."

She chuckled and headed off for the bar.

The Doctor, in the meantime, headed off for their table when Marisol Souza appeared in front of him and practically dragged him to the side of the room.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Please, for the sake of your birthday, go away."

Marisol just smirked and glanced to the bar counter where her aunt Sophia was making her way towards Minerva.

Let it begin, she thought.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva," Sophia had reached Minerva's side at the bar counter and smiled.

Minerva gave her mother a quick glance, "Mother..." she said shakily, her nervousness rising as she thought of the many ways her mother could yell at her for disobeying her orders.

"You look lovely," Sophia remarked, eyeing the dress.

"You think so?" Minerva blinked, seriously confused, "But I thought you said-"

"Yes, well, I thought of it and realized how ridiculous I had been. You look wonderful," Sophia stepped closer, "I realize Minerva, that I have been awfully rude to you all this time...all your life, actually," Minerva could only stare at Sophia with wide eyes, "I know you've been listening to me lately to be forgiven, and...I do, Minerva. I do forgive you."

Minerva watched her mother place a hand over her cheek, "You forgive me?" she whispered.

Sophia nodded, "I forgive you."

Minerva stepped back, her mother's hand dropping to her side, "Just like that?" she raised an eyebrow, "After four years of blame and yells, you forgive me like that?"

"I've been contemplating and I realized how unfair I was..." Sophia looked over to the Doctor and Marisol, giving a slight nod to her niece.

~ 0 ~

"I am losing my patience, Marisol," the Doctor was trying to make his way back to the table where Martha and Donna were sat in, even seeing Stacey finally joining them, "I came here with your cousin to have a good time, and you're ruining it."

Marisol grabbed his arm and yanked him back, "What does Minerva have that I don't? Because if you ask me, you're dating a conniving, horridly fake, non-fashionable, overly-dramatic little girl."

"When did you start describing yourself?" the Doctor took back his arm from her.

Marisol suffocated her snappy comeback for the sake of the plan.

~ 0 ~

"Mother, I have waited for this day to come but..." Minerva looked at Sophia curiously, "...you've been cross with me for years. I guess I just expected this moment to be a little more...dramatic-filled."

Minerva had awaited for the day her mother forgave for her sister's death. But when Sophia said those words, it felt _wrong_. She expected Sophia to speak with more emotions than she did now. She guessed she just expected for her mother to act...like a mother.

Sophia looked stone cold.

"Your drinks, ma'am," the bar tender set down two glasses of lemonade on the counter.

Minerva turned and took a glass for herself, "Why are you telling me this _now_?" she asked Sophia, "At Marisol's party? You know, the surrogate daughter you love instead of me? Your _actual_ daughter."

Sophia rolled her eyes and put on a soft smile as she turned Minerva to face her, "Because I realize that by caring and helping for Marisol, I've neglected you. And now I hear you're on dates and whatnot."

"He's really nice, mom," Minerva mumbled.

"I don't think so," Sophia said, "Minerva, you're young and your beautiful...and for that you will have to be very careful with the men you choose."

"Please don't go there. Anything but that lame excuse for your sudden dislike for my date."

"He's older-"

"Yeah, and it changes nothing between us," Minerva firmly said, "We met yesterday and already I feel like a queen at his side. I can see how much he cares for me and I would never doubt it just because of your silly warnings."

"Oh really?" Sophia raised an eyebrow, "I am much older than you and so I know what to look out for and I'm telling you that that man is not good for you."

"He is very good for me, thank you very much."

"Yeah?" Sophia glanced at Marisol again, Marisol smirking back as she realized it was time.

~ 0 ~

"For the last time, get out of my way," the Doctor nearly shouted, ignoring the looks he was getting from the guests nearby. The woman was getting on his last nerve and he was frankly struggling not to shove her out of the way.

"Tell me, have you ever wondered what it'd be like to kiss a real woman...?" Marisol smirked and stepped closer to him.

"I have, she's called Minerva, now goodbye," the Doctor tried moving around but it didn't work.

Marisol grabbed his arm again and yanked him to her...right onto her lips.

~ 0 ~

"Unfortunately for you dear, mother is always right," Sophia ignored Minerva's confused face and turned her to face the spectacle her cousin was making across them.

Minerva's mouth opened in gasp, swallowing hard as she saw her cousin and _date_... _kissing_...that was _her_ date... _hers_...and he was kissing her cousin?

"I told you dearie, if you don't give up what men want, they go find another who will," Sophia put her hand on Minerva's arm. Minerva shook it off and set her glass on the bar's counter, her eyes watering up fairly fast, "Oh, don't cry," Sophia tried sounding upset for her daughter. She cast a look to Marisol in time to see the Doctor angrily pulling away and _shoving_ Marisol away.

But it was too late, the damage had been done...and oh what a damage it was.

"Don't," Minerva hurried away from her mother.

~ 0 ~

"You are out of your psychotic mind!" the Doctor did not hold his tongue anymore, "You don't ever do that to me, do you understand?"

Marisol just smirked, unperturbed of all the eyes watching them now, "My, my, you are sure a great kisser-"

"I didn't kiss back so don't sell me that crap," he walked away from her, frantically looking for Minerva, desperately hoping she hadn't witnessed it.

"What the hell was that!?" Martha ran up to him, making him groan.

Here came all the questions.

"Oh my god you were set up," Stacey came up as well, making them follow her gaze back to Marisol who was returning to her aunt Sophia.

"How do you mean?" the Doctor frowned, his mind barely able to catch up as he scanned the area for Minerva while wiping his mouth endlessly.

"They set you up," Stacey repeated, gritting her teeth, "Oh she is _so_ going to hear me now," she tried moving past them.

"No," the Doctor pulled her back, "Let's be the bigger person, tonight alright? I'm going to have to deal with a very angry uncle and father, and when Isadora hears, angry grandmother. I have to go find Minerva," he rushed off.

Stacey watched him run towards the entrance doors and then Martha.

"Yeah well," Martha fixed her dress, "Turns out I'm _not_ a bigger person," she stormed over to Marisol.

Stacey smirked and rushed to help.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva, where are you going?" Donna had caught Minerva trying to rush out of the building. She'd been at the restrooms and had literally crashed into Minerva as she ran.

"I need to get out of here," Minerva cried and sniffled loudly.

"Why? What's happened?" Donna became concerned, trying to give her a side hug but Minerva kept shaking her head and moving away from her.

"Marisol and...John, they...they _kissed_ and I saw them and..." Minerva burst into sobs.

"What do you mean they kissed?" Donna tried reaching for her but Minerva wouldn't have it, "He'd never do that to you-"

"Minerva!" the Doctor called, running towards them.

"You stay back!" Minerva pointed, moving forwards to the sidewalk, "I don't want you anywhere near me! Go back to Marisol!"

"You gotta listen to me," he raised his hands in surrender, knowing the situation was bad and he just needed her to stay still so he could explain.

"Why? So you can fill my head with all your excuses? Stay away from me and _don't_ talk to me," she ran off again.

"Minerva!" he went after her but Donna pulled him back, "Donna, not now!"

"Let's leave her to cool down, we all know she's impulsive and won't listen to you," Donna kept him still, making him realize she was right.

All he could do was stare after his Clever Girl getting farther and farther from him, probably thinking the worst of him.

~ 0 ~

"Marisol Souza you got some nerve, I'll give you that," Martha spun the black-haired woman around to face her, "But you crossed the line and hurt my best friend. And let me tell you that I stood up for her from her own boyfriend so you will definitely _not_ be an exception."

Marisol rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever," she drank from her glass.

Martha snatched the glass from her and smashed it to the ground, "SIT DOWN!" she shouted, making Minerva flinch.

"I don't have to listen to you..." Marisol tried to seem unaffected.

Martha raised an eyebrow, accepting the challenge. She reached for another glass on the bar counter and then threw its contents on Marisol's dress, " _That's_ for hurting my best friend. And _this_ is for using my other best friend..."

Stacey moved beside Martha and stomped on Marisol's foot.

"OW!" Marisol jumped up from her chair and hopped on her one good foot, "What the hell!? You two are so childish!"

"We're not the ones obsessed with hurting other people, your _family,_ " Stacey snapped, "We don't kiss our family's boyfriends and we don't make our family's lives living hell. _You're_ the child."

"Don't forget pathetic," Martha crossed her arms, "You think that by doing all this you just sabotaged Minerva's relationship? I've got news for you dear, not even the end of the world could manage to do that. And you're right, what we did right now was completely childish but at least we did it to defend someone we love. But tell me, Marisol, who loves _you_? I bet no one. And I bet that's why you hate Minerva...because she has what you just can't seem to garner, people's honest love."

"My family hates her," Marisol spat.

"Are you sure? Because I've been talking to several of them tonight and they all seem to be forgetting that whole Olivia fiasco. It's pathetic how you're so scared of being replaced by your little cousin, huh? That's your curse," Martha looked her over, "You'll never be secure of yourself while Minerva will always have people who'll assure her she's fantastic."

With that, Martha and Stacey left. They had some explaining to do to Minerva's father and uncle and they'd rather do it before they killed the poor Doctor.

~ 0 ~

Minerva had ran down several streets and finally stopped when she was sure the Doctor hadn't followed her. She leaned against a wall and let out her sobs, her heartbroken sobs. How could he do that to her? How could he give her such a wonderful experience and then snatch it away from her like that? For the first time since she could remember, she had felt so complete and so... _happy_. He made her feel things she never thought she could, and then he took it from her by kissing her cousin.

Of course, Marisol was beautiful. She was older and definitely more experienced than her in everything. Perhaps he saw in Marisol what she didn't have, what she didn't offer. And if that was the case, then why should she cry for him? Why should she feel so pitiful and awful of herself?

Why should she feel her heart break into tiny little pieces?

A soft, humming noise made her look up from her thoughts. She looked around until she spotted a blue glow in the middle of the street, off to the side in some alley. Confused yet intrigued, she walked for the direction of the glow, hearing its hums as she neared. It felt relaxing, even in the midst of her crisis. She stopped at the corner of the dark alley, seeing a glowing blue light across. Suddenly, it started fading...revealing something behind it.

Minerva's eyes widened to see a blue box, a blue police box just standing there. She swallowed hard and moved for it, cautiously and slowly. However, she came to a complete halt when the door opened and a man stepped out. He had tousled brown hair and green eyes, and also wore a suit with a tail behind.

"Hello there," he flashed a grin at her.

Minerva stared at him, unable to decide if this was just a mirage from her radical emotions or if this was seriously real and she just met a crazy man and should probably run away.

"Oh, you've been crying," he frowned at the sight of her, "Don't do that."

As if remembering she had indeed been crying, she quickly wiped some tears off her face and took a trembling deep breath, "Who are you? And what were you doing inside that box?"

He looked back at the box for a moment and then back to her, a faint smile on his face, "You don't remember?"

"Why would I? I don't even know you. I should get out of here..."

"And yet you're not moving," he whispered. She looked down instead of answering, "You know, from my own past experiences with arguments...I've learned to always listen and not be so impulsive."

"How do you know I'm in a fight?" she looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Call it an intuition," he fixed his jacket and walked up to her, smiling when she kept still instead of running off, "I know there are two sides to a story and should always believe the person I love."

"I bet she didn't kiss your cousin," she mumbled.

He chuckled, "No, guess she hasn't done that..."

"It's just...I felt something, something right here," she put her hand over her heart, "It's like...it's like I could've done anything just to see him smile. I know it's crazy to say that when I literally just met him but I can't help it. These feelings are so big and so strong and...he took it and broke them all," she bit her lip and looked to the side as more tears built in her eyes.

"I am so sorry for that," he reached to touch her face, a sorrowful look on his face, "Believe me, he will never finish apologizing for that."

"I don't know why I told you all that," Minerva just realized, blinking away her tears as she realized she had even leaned into his touch, "You're just a stranger."

"I inspire trust," he shrugged, taking back his hand.

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here, much less in a police box."

"Oh, I was, um...I took a detour. I remembered that someone important needed me and I came."

"Oh, and have you helped them?"

"In the process, actually," he mumbled.

Minerva stared at him for a moment before walking around him up to the box. She placed a hand on the box, feeling a bit odd. She didn't see the blue light move behind her, barely touching her arms. She hissed and turned around, completely alarmed, "What did you do?"

He smiled sadly at her, "Nothing."

"I felt something on my arms and you're the only one here," Minerva walked for him, "What the hell did you do?"

He simply pointed back.

Minerva glanced over her shoulder and saw the same glowing blue light she'd seen. It stood in front of the box's doors, humming away, "What is that?"

"Someone important."

"What's it doing?"

"Studying."

"Studying what?"

"It's studying for the right moment," the man moved around her and turned to face her, "Now, I'm going to give you some advice and I need you to listen to it. That man you talked about, I can just tell he adores you and would never do anything to hurt you. Consider the idea that your cousin may have set him up to create this little argument between you two."

"Why would she do that?"

"You mother forgave you all of a sudden, didn't she?"

Minerva blinked and stepped back, "How do you know that?"

"Just think about it, okay?"

"Why are you here? Who are you? Why are you dressed like that?" Minerva moved around him, the attire seeming party-like.

"I was on my way to a...royal party," he turned to face her with a small smirk, "But I remembered that someone needed me at this point," he smiled and took her hand, pulling her to him, "You are so beautiful, just like I remember."

"Do we know each other?" she raised an eyebrow, something about him seemed familiar. He had made her tell him things she wouldn't just tell a stranger. Plus, the way he looked at her made her think there was something more to it, but she didn't want to think about it. Not another man, not one who could hurt her.

"But I'm afraid this is going to be one more thing you won't remember," he took her other hand and pulled her to him, leaving them face to face, "And this one will be one you won't remember for quite a while...until we see each other for the first time," he brushed a strand of her hair away, "But don't worry, I'll leave those words in your mind, advise for your argument."

"Excuse me?" she frowned, the man was making no utter sense!

He kissed her forehead and put his fingers to her temples. Minerva's eyes fell shut immediately as she felt his presence inside her head...taking this precise moment from her. When he let go, he knew she would be hazed up for another minute or two which would give him the perfect escape. He smiled at her and turned away for the box, "Now you be careful," he warned the blue light, "It's not going to be easy, I hope you know."

Minerva watched him open the box door and take a step inside. He looked back at her with a smirk, "You know what? I gotta get back to Minerva," he fully stepped inside and shut the door.

Minerva felt her eyes heavy for a moment, putting a hand on her head as she closed them just for a second. Minerva's eyes snapped open suddenly, a new image inside her mind. She quickly dashed off.

~ 0 ~

Minerva flung her bedroom's door open and hurried up to her drawing pinboard, her eyes scanning for one certain picture that had been plaguing her for its lack of details. She pulled the paper down and stared it, now understanding what was missing from it. She grabbed a pencil from her desk and plopped down, her hand scribbling down the newest addition to the drawing.

In the end, it was a desert with with one lower ground where a blue box stood on the floor, tilted on its side. The doors were open and smoke was emerging from it. Her fingers traced the figure that stood in front of it, a man's back to the viewer, nothing specifically visible. But she didn't need to draw a face, she knew this was the missing link to her odd dreams lately. It was that figure and that box that were the center of it all. She could remember it now, the faint glimpses of a box in all her dreams that were simply no on Earth.

"Minerva," the Doctor walked into her room, sonic in hand.

Minerva stood up from her death and glared, "How did you get in?"

"Let's just say I have my own ways of getting into places," he slowly hid the sonic from her.

"Yeah, you just sneak into people's hearts and then break them," she turned to her desk and looked at her drawing again, ignoring her watery eyes.

" _She_ kissed _me_ ," he tried keeping his voice down to normal but the frustration was growing, "I pushed her away-"

"That's not what I saw!"

"But it happened! Minerva, you can't let them win. Your mother and cousin set us up, they tricked us!"

"They would never do that..." and yet somehow, the doubt of her mother's words was itching away in her mind.

She felt like she should stop being so impulsive and listen to the Doctor. She should try and perhaps...perhaps things wouldn't be that bad. So how exactly could she do that?

"Your mother hates me and sorry to say, but she hates you too. She's never liked me and this is just one of her ways to separate us."

Minerva suddenly remembered her mother forgiving her, and for some reason it became highly important for her to evaluate, "She forgave for me Olivia's death..." she whispered, contemplating, "...right before you and Marisol kissed..."

"I'm sorry, but she tricked you by using the most vulnerable point of your life," the Doctor sighed, "You've been wanting to be forgiven and she used that against you to separate us."

"But that makes no sense! How could she hate us together if she hasn't even met you yet!"

The Doctor looked at her for a moment, seeing this as a good time to tell her the truth. She was already remembering bits of their life together and he was sure no harm could come from him giving her that last push, "Minerva, your mother and I have talked before, over the phone..." he slowly walked for her, ignoring the confused look on her face, "...and the reason we've talked is because you and I...we're together. We were boyfriend and girlfriend just two weeks ago."

"That's impossible, I would've remembered you," Minerva shrugged and walked to the foot of her bed where she took a seat.

"No, you wouldn't have," the Doctor turned to her, "And that's okay because it's out of your control. You can't remember any part where I'm included. But you gotta listen to me, I _am_ your boyfriend. I'm the man that's hopelessly in love with you and the only reason I wasn't there at the hospital with you was because I was traveling around the universe to get help for you."

Minerva stared with utter confusion, "You're not making sense. We met _yesterday_."

"No, you _think_ we met yesterday but in reality we met years ago. You were...going to be killed by an alien and I...I was there, I took you with me...and after a series of events, we started time traveling together."

"You have lost it!" Minerva pointed, more afraid than confused, "Do you honestly believe I'm that stupid that I'd believe all that? Two humans traveling through time?"

"Would it make more sense if I said I was an alien and you were the human?"

"No, because that would mean I fell for an alien and that's impossible. There is no such thing as time travel and you are most certainly not an alien and much less my old boyfriend."

"But I am! We're in love-"

"No we're not! Your whole story is just lies, ridiculous lies to confuse me and make me forgive you for kissing my cousin."

"We've traveled for years now and we're in love, and I'm gonna prove it," the Doctor wore a new face of determination as he sat down beside Minerva and took her hand, "If we weren't in a relationship of years worth then how would I know your birthday is on October 31st, 1990, that you emancipated yourself at the age of fourteen, ran off with your uncle for about a year until you left him at 15 where you also saw a future incarnation of myself in a desolate desert? How would I know that your favorite colors are blue and purple? Or how you don't even own a phone because you don't believe in them. You believe in being outside doing something productive. Or how about that you're actually ambidextrous but you prefer using your right hand except when you're upset you use your left hand and you don't even know why except that it's just weird? How would I know that you're terrified of horses and can't ice skate? That you love to draw bit you think you're not good enough on a canvas yet? Or that you would never under any circumstances cut your hair because you think it would be a monstrosity? Or that your favorite meal is pasta of all types and your favorite desserts are really Minty fresh brownies and snicker-doodles?" desperately, he scooted closer to her, putting his hand over her cheek, his tears forming as he spoke and realized just how much he missed his Clever Girl, "I know that that apple tree in the backyard is more than just some tree. It's the tree you and your grandfather ate apples from while you watched the stars.I also know that you dream of traveling and would just absolutely hate being locked away in some office all day. I know that you would do anything to get your mother to forgive you, that you would allow her to change who you are just for that. And why? Because you feel like you deserve everything bad that comes your way. I know just about everything about you, Minerva. I know that you hate your middle name and you love when I call you my Clever Girl...and you love calling me your Martian. And even if I say I hate that name, I don't mean it because it's coming from your mouth, your sweet lips..."

Minerva could only blink in shock as the Doctor caressed her cheek, his tears stirring something inside of her. She knew for a fact that she had _never_ spoken of any of those things to him in the short time they've met. There was no possible way that he could know all that...if she hadn't told him herself. _She_ was the only one who could tell him all that. Only her.

"...and the most important thing you learned from me, Minerva, is that I would always pick you over anything and anyone..." the Doctor whispered, looking her dead in the eye, "...because I love _you_ and only you. I wouldn't ever kiss your cousin. I wouldn't even turn to give her a glance because she's nothing compared to you. You're a goddess, _my_ goddess, and I love you. _Please_ believe me," he took her hand into both of his and gripped it, "You have to believe me."

She looked at their hands together and then at him, contemplating on her next move. The Doctor looked terrified of what she might say. Perhaps spilling everything to her like that wasn't a smart move but he was growing desperate. He didn't want to lose Minerva, especially on account of her horrid adoptive mother and cousin.

"You're...an alien...and my boyfriend," Minerva began, the Doctor nodded fairly fast, "And I'm a human...whose a girlfriend to an alien..."

The Doctor nodded, it was more or less correct. Technical speaking, she was still human concerning biology.

"And she is everything to me," the Doctor assured, giving her hand a kiss.

Minerva kept looking at him as if studying for something different, "If you're an alien, why do you look human?"

"Technically _we_ came first," he corrected, "And while I may look human I have two hearts."

"Two?"

"Yup, right here," he pointed with a free hand to either side of his chest.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, would you like proof or something?"

Honestly, she would. Everything he was saying was utterly impossible and yet everything had been correct, the parts of her life anyways. She couldn't very well know if he truly loved her...even if she felt so compelled to believe him. But to say he was an alien? Didn't that like contradict intergalactic laws or something? He couldn't be an alien, he was a man, a nice human man.

"I'm not lying, you know," the Doctor eyed her while she thought, "I don't do that to you. Here," he grabbed her hand and placed it over his left heart, "Listen."

Minerva blinked at the move and blushed. Yet somehow...it felt _familiar._

* * *

 _"Well, unlike Matron Joan, I don't have any tools, but I do have a hand," Minerva waved her hand, "And excellent hearing. May I?"_

 _"Uh, sure," the Doctor stepped up to her._

 _Minerva placed her hand over his chest and felt his one heartbeat, an obvious blush on her face, while the Doctor stared at her with locked eyes._

* * *

Silently, Minerva moved her hand to his right side and felt a different heartbeat, separate to the last one. It amazed her how she knew that she'd feel another heart.

"I just saw myself in the 1900s," she whispered as she removed her hand from his chest, her eyes lingering down while she thought on the brief image she'd seen of them. They were both wearing period clothing and she was even faking an English accent, "Doing the exact thing I just did..."

"That was us in 1913, you were checking to see if I was human," the Doctor explained, putting a finger underneath her chin and lifting her gaze, "My Clever Girl, don't you see? I'm not lying to you. All this is real, my love for you is real and I just need you back. I miss you..."

Minerva had no idea what to say back. Under his gaze she grew nervous and found she couldn't face him in the eyes.

"Minerva, please say something," the Doctor pleaded.

Minerva put her hand to her mouth as she thought. Suddenly she saw herself walking away from the man in front of her, her fingers on her lips for some reason, inside a corridor.

"Minerva?" the Doctor asked again, sighing at her silence, "I don't know what else to do for you to believe me-"

She leaned over and pressed her lips to his. Surprised for a couple of seconds, the Doctor blinked but slowly fell into the kiss. He moved his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him, deciding to use this kiss to prove everything he had just said to her. He didn't have to hold back anymore, he could kiss her like he used to. He could show her what she meant to him, and he _would_ prove it.

Minerva pulled back and took a deep breath, "Oh my god..." she put her fingers to her lips, recalling another imagination moment of them in a place surrounded by... _lanterns_? And there was that cheongasm again!

"Minerva..." the Doctor was afraid of what he should do next.

"It's true, isn't it?" she looked around her room, "I always felt something was missing from the moment I woke up in the hospital. I knew someone was missing in that room...that was _you_."

"I'm sorry, I was looking for help and-"

"You're an alien..." she scooted back onto her bed and put her hands on her head, feeling a small icy prick at the sides, "...and we time travel...with... _Donna_?"

The Doctor beamed, "Yes! The loud ginger!"

She faintly smiled and looked at him, "You were missing...why did you leave?"

"It's really complicated and I'd rather wait until you fully remember," he reached for her hand, "I don't know how much you can take right now with everything that just happened..."

She looked to the side as she recalled, "Marisol kissed you..."

"But it meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'll have to use mouth wash three times each night for about a month to get rid of this disgust," he gripped her hand, "Because I only want _you_ to kiss me."

She shared another faint smile and suddenly pulled him over, nearly knocking her down to her bed, "I just remembered...you've been gone for two weeks of my life and they were awful. You owe me."

He chuckled, "I suppose I do."

"And, if you want to use mouth wash I think I can help..." she looked at him innocently, her delicate voice matching, "...except my method wouldn't be mouth _wash_...it'd be mouth..." she put put her hands to his face, "...to mouth," she went ahead and kissed him.

Without further doubt, the Doctor responded to her kiss, moving over her and cupping her face. Minerva found that she could not have enough of the Doctor's kisses. Even from yesterday night after their date, despite being in the dark about who he really was, she just felt instantaneously attracted to him and wanted to kiss him, be close to him, everything. Now knowing they'd been going out for quite some time made all her feelings make much more sense.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" she asked the Doctor quietly, disliking the idea of being apart even more now that she learned they were together.

"Here?" the Doctor made a face at the idea.

Of course he wanted to stay with his Clever Girl for the night just like he used to...but in the TARDIS. He wanted nothing more than to take Minerva into his arms and rush back to the TARDIS into her room where she belonged. But he supposed there was only so much she could take for tonight and decided it was probably best to save the blue box that was bigger on the inside for tomorrow morning.

"It's just I don't want you to have to go," Minerva explained, her finger playing with one of his jacket's buttons, "Ever since I came home from the hospital I can't sleep well because I feel like something's missing. And now I know that was you," she looked at him with innocent eyes that made the Doctor melt like puddy in her hands and accept anything she wanted, "Please stay?"

He sighed lightly and pressed his forehead to hers, his hand trailing her cheek, "Of course I'll stay. I can't deny my Clever Girl anything."

Minerva smiled brightly and lifted her head to give him a kiss, "Thank you! Promise you won't have any trouble with my family for tonight. My grandmother is out and probably won't even notice I've snuck in my boyfriend," she giggled, "And Martha and Donna..."

"Believe me, your grandmother knows about me well," the Doctor assured, "She won't mind," he tapped her nose and moved off her, "You should get changed and ready for sleep."

"Do you need anything?" Minerva stood up and turned to him, "I'm sure a tuxedo isn't very comfortable to sleep in."

"I don't sleep as much as humans do," he explained, "I probably won't be sleeping tonight, but that's okay," he reached to put a hand on her cheek when she started frowning in disappointment, "I always love having you in my arms fast asleep, feeling how softly you breath, your warmth near me...it's amazing."

Minerva blushed, "Oh, well, I'll try to sleep like that then."

She turned and went for her sleeping clothes and hurried into the bathroom. The Doctor took a long breath as he thought about everything that had just happened in the course of these five minutes. The most prominent thing, and most important, was that Minerva wasn't angry with him anymore because of Marisol's tricks. Apart from that, she wasn't afraid of him after knowing the truth. The only thing he wanted to do now was take her back to the TARDIS and spend all his time with her. He knew he had to continue his work on figuring out how to help her but another way of helping her was to make sure she wasn't alone. She'd said it herself, she had felt empty throughout these past two weeks and that is something he didn't want her to feel ever again.

A couple minutes later, Minerva emerged from the bathroom wearing a loose, white blouse with pink capris while her hair was braided to the side, "Are you sure you don't want other clothes?" she asked the Doctor as she neared him, "I'm sure my uncle had to have left some clothes around here."

"I'm fine," he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, "Really."

She took her hand away from his and pushed his jacket off, making him stiffen and her laugh, "What's the matter?" she asked him as she moved to undo his bow-tie.

"J-j-just that...wh-what are you doing?" he stared at her moving hands with wide eyes.

"I just thought maybe without your jacket and neck-choking bow-tie would be a bit easier on you," she moved to the side and folded up his jacket.

"Oh..." he started relaxing, his hearts slowly returning to their normal beats.

Minerva just laughed again, "You act like I've never done that before."

"That's because...you haven't," he swallowed, his gaze becoming harder to stay on her as his face flushed red.

Her laugh faded as she looked at him, a bit perplexed, "I haven't?"

"Well...I mean, you've helped me choose ties and whatnot...never actually, um...removed...clothes..." he wondered if he was being a bit blatant about it, he was really trying not to but...that matter had always been complicated for them for some reason.

"Oh..." she blinked, leaving his jacket alone for the moment, "...I see. Um...sorry...I can't really remember our relationship so I just sort of made the supposition and stuff and-"

"N-n-n-no, it's fine, don't worry," he offered a smile, beaming when she offered one back. He took her hands and slowly pulled her up to him, "See, because, we've discussed it before and came up with a little motto."

"A motto? What kind of motto?"

"Our motto is: no hurries, no pressure, just as long as we're together and happy we're good."

Minerva smiled deeply at those words, wondering if this was how she felt when she had all her memories, "I like that motto."

"Yeah, we both do," the Doctor nodded, suddenly scooping her into his arms, laughing when she yelped, "And we both love cuddling in the nights."

"Mm, I think I did love it," she agreed as he set her down on her bed.

"I know _I_ did," he set himself beside her and pulled her closer to him, her head resting on his chest, "And I've missed it."

Minerva felt herself begin to lose against the sleepiness that was washing over her just by being listening to his heartbeats. But as she began drifting off, there was one question he hadn't specifically answered, "Where've you been?" she whispered.

"Somewhere...I promise I'll tell you when you get better," the Doctor assured, dropping a kiss to her hair.

She nodded and closed her eyes, savoring the moment so much. While she couldn't remember anything, her body just knew that they were finally at peace and could actually sleep for the first night in two weeks.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! Been a bit more than a week, huh? Sorry about that! There's been so many things to do in school including a 10 page essay, another 2 pg for a different class and blah blah blah so much crap to do .

But anyways, here's the next chapter, hope it was well-liked! I always like sticking 11 in a story before his actual time, just to give a small foreshadow of what was to come. I seem to have done the same with my other DW draft stories ^.^ But I just really loved writing this chapter with the Doctor literally declaring everything he knew about Minerva 3  
This will also be the last original chapter for some time. The next one will be a special one but you'll have to wait and see why it'll be special ;)

 _For Reviews:_

Thank you! I'd be horrified of Sophia and Marisol too lol I don't know how Minerva's managed to deal with them for so long .-. Yeah, I feel sorry for how Liv's life progressed because of her mother's words. Sometimes mother is just not right. Far better than 12 years lmao, poor Amy wins on that one. Well, as you clearly saw Marisol and Sophia were VERY upset about Minerva's appearance. Ah yes, the Doctor will forever be there fo his Clever Girl/Moon princess ;)

Sorry, but I finally updated yay! Hope you liked this follow-up chapter too lol I had fun writing the pair acting semi-normal ^.^

Lol, hope you liked it!

Well, next chapter we're finally onto one of my all time favorite episodes, the Unicorn and the Wasp! For Minerva it'll be a really important chapter that will sort of stay with her until she finishes the process. Hope to hear your thoughts and until next time!


	16. Aliens in Hiding

"And this is my spaceship," the Doctor opened the doors of the TARDIS and allowed Minerva inside the box.

She stepped inside and breathed in at the sight, her hand covering her mouth. The Doctor and Donna stepped inside behind her, smiling softly at her as she took it in. She heard the description of the box earlier in the day but she didn't quite believe it...

"It's...a whole lot bigger..." she blinked, tilting her head at the sight of console, "...what's that?" she rushed up to it, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she looked at all the controls.

"What? That's it?" Donna frowned, a bit disappointed for some reason, "She says that one line and then she goes to the... _console_?"

"Why wouldn't I go to the console?" Minerva asked absently, only repeating Donna's words because she hadn't paid attention to what had been said. Most of her attention was focused on the millions of little controls around the console.

"Because it's bigger on the inside! Aren't you the least intrigued at the reason?"

Minerva shook her head and touched a knob, "I wanna know what these do!"

"She's a geek, Donna," Martha stepped inside the box. Minerva looked up with a mock-glare, "In a lovely way, of course. But in reality that's why they work," Martha nodded to Minerva and the Doctor who was moving beside Minerva, "They're both geeks."

"Oi," the pair frowned at her.

"Am I lying?" she raised an eyebrow, smirking when both looked away, "Thought so. Now, you better take good care of her, Doctor. Minerva's already curious and now that she had to re-learn everything who knows what kind of trouble she'll get herself into!"

"Oi, I'm no child you know," Minerva huffed.

But the Doctor was staring at her with a fond smile, "Don't worry Martha, any trouble she gets herself into I'll be more than glad to get her out of it."

Minerva swayed and smiled innocently, "Will you be my savior, then? Be there when I shout 'help'?"

"Most definitely," he nodded and leaned down to kiss her.

"And they're back," Donna said distastefully before turning to Martha, "So what do you say, Martha? You want to come join us again?"

"I've got to work," she shrugged, "I've got to make UNIT believe the mysterious patient is dead. That's not an easy job to do."

"What would happen if UNIT found me?" Minerva asked, afraid of the possible chance.

She was now up to speed with the dilemma of her blood and heart again. The Doctor didn't want to have another dangerous argument because he kept another secret from her. So, as soon as they'd woken up and were ready to talk, he laid it all out slowly for her to endure and understand. Minerva had been terrified, as he predicted, but was able to be succumbed once he assured her that he wouldn't let anything hurt her and that he'd be there at her side 100% of the time. She was still confused about who Kaeya was but he knew that once her memories returned, she'd make the connections again and then really give her proper reaction to all this. For the moment, she was just trying to remember who she really was as the time traveler.

Martha watched the Doctor wind an arm around Minerva's waist and use it to pull her closer to his side, understanding the woman was still pretty frightened and with great motivation, "Don't worry," Martha began, "I'm not gonna let it happen. The files will turn up saying the patient is dead. That'll get them to stop looking at least for a while. By the time they re-open the case everything will be figured out here and the Doctor will explain everything to them."

"And would that make them not want to dissect me?" Minerva looked at the Doctor for that one.

"No one is going to be prodding you nor sticking you with needles. I'd kill them," he assured seriously.

She nodded and rested her head on his arm, "Alright then, so I' a time traveler with an alien boyfriend, a doctor human best friend and a ginger sister. That's something new."

"You'll remember soon enough," the Doctor kissed her hair.

"Well, I've got to get back to work," Martha walked up to the couple, "I think I'll be staying with your grandmother for a bit longer if you don't mind," she said to Minerva.

"Not at all, I think my grandmother could use some company now that uncle Aaron and Cody don't live there."

Her grandmother hadn't been upset that Minerva was leaving again. On the contrary, she was ecstatic that Minerva was finally leaving the place and getting far away from her mother and cousin. After the fiasco with Marisol, it was safe to say that Sophia (and Marisol) were pretty much disliked by Isadora, Aaron and Nicolas. Isadora was severely disappointed in her daughter and doubted she could ever forgive Sophia for what she'd done. Even Nicolas and Aaron had had a heated argument with Sophia and there were words closing in on divorces and never speaking to each other thrown out in the argument. Isadora didn't want Minerva anywhere near all that tension until it was all resolved, whether divorce actually happened or siblings not talking to each other. The only thing Isadora required was a call every day to know everything was in order. The same thing applied to Minerva's father. He wanted her to leave and be happy, away from all the negativity Sophia provided. He only requested that she'd call him and visit often like her grandmother. Minerva happily obliged to them.

"I'm gonna ask her to teach me that recipe for pasta," Martha chuckled and gave Minerva a hug.

"Do that, hers will taste so much better than mine," Minerva hugged back.

"I'll get back to you with results," Martha moved on to hug the Doctor, "Now you take care and I expect a phone call like Isadora and Nicolas."

"Yes, ma'am," he hugged her.

"And Donna," Martha turned around and headed for the ginger to give her a hug as well, "If they get a bit _too_ couply, smack them will you?"

"Done and done," Donna nodded.

"Martha," Minerva mumbled, her face bright a tomato. Had they always done those types of comments around her and the Doctor?

"Well, see you all later," Martha waved and walked out of the box.

"So, where are we going?" Donna walked up to the console, more than ready to begin the adventures.

"I don't know, I don't want to overwhelm Minerva..." the Doctor began, worried that perhaps it might be too early for Minerva to go somewhere completely different.

"Ahem, I am more than glad to go on an adventure," Minerva cut in, assuming he was worrying about her by the expressions he had on his face, "I want to go somewhere, anywhere. Prove to me you're a time traveler, go on," she gestured to the console.

"A challenge," the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Are you challenging me?"

Minerva smirked and stepped closer to him, "I don't know...do I do that a lot?"

"At times..." the Doctor did the same and stepped closer to her, a small smirk spreading on his face.

"And how does that usually go, then?"

"Okay first of all," Donna called in with a loud voice, making the pair look over and see her mockingly-gagging, "Eugh! Quit your flirting! Or get a room?"

"Alright fine, so how about an alien planet?" the Doctor looked at Minerva, trying to make his warm face cool off. He was just really glad to have Minerva back in the TARDIS with him. It was where she belonged, where, apparently since centuries ago, she longed to be in.

Minerva was also blushing, but now it was more because of the stare the Doctor had on her. She looked at the console again, passing a hand over the controls, "Alien planet sounds good," she spoke quietly. The TARDIS gave a gentle hum which made her gasp and flinch, even stepping back from the console, "What was that!?"

The TARDIS hummed again and the Doctor could feel it was a bit of a disappointed hum, "That would be the TARDIS," he nodded to the rotor in front of them.

"It's... _alive_?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied at the same time another hum was heard, "And she doesn't like it when you call her an 'it'."

Minerva sheepishly looked at the rotor, "Sorry..."

"You're usually the advocate to call her a 'she'," the Doctor reminded, "First human I see that doesn't think I'm crazy for talking to her."

"Well, if she's alive...I don't see why you shouldn't talk to her," Minerva considered the idea of the box actually being alive quite calmly, "And...why did she hum?"

"Oh I don't know, I can't actually understand what she's saying. It's more like guessing," he said, "But I'm pretty sure it was a hum to welcome you back. The second one was because you were afraid of her."

"I'm not afraid of you," Minerva quickly said to the box, "You just...surprised me, that's all," she reached to put her hand on the rotor, "Usually, for humans, boxes aren't alive. So sorry, can we start over again?"

The Doctor started smiling, his Clever Girl was really just that adorable wasn't she?

When the TARDIS hummed again, Minerva took her hand off the rotor and looked at the Doctor, "I think that was her saying 'yes'."

"I think so too," he nodded, giving her a kiss, "And that was for being utterly adorable," and he kissed her a second time, "And that was just...because I've missed you."

Minerva blushed and looked away. Donna, who had been watching the small (and admittingly adorable) moment, took a dramatic deep breath to get their attention, "So that planet?" she was staring to consider that it might be better for her to leave so the two could have some time to them selves.

"Yes!" the Doctor quickly remembered the trip and started setting the console up.

Donna immediately clung to the console, Minerva looking at her with confusion, "Why are you doing that?" she asked.

Donna shook her head, "Your boyfriend is a terrible pilot."

Minerva only had time to open her mouth when the Doctor pulled her to his chest and set the TARDIS to go, "Ah!" she cried when the box moved in its shaky jolts.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Minerva and Donna stepped out of the TARDIS into some sort of garden, of course none of them noticed because Minerva was still currently shaking off that little TARDIS ride.

"When Donna said you weren't a good pilot-"

"No, no, my words were he is a _terrible_ pilot," Donna cut in, the Doctor throwing her a mock-glare.

"Anyways," Minerva giggled, quickly covering her mouth before he noticed, "I was going to say that I didn't expect for it to be that true..."

"I got excited," was the Doctor's response, "My Clever Girl is back with me and I wanted to get to a trip fast," he gestured for the new environment around them, "Smell that air. Grass and lemonade and a little bit of mint. Just a hint of mint, must be the 1920's."

"You can tell what year it is just by smelling?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, stunned.

"Oh yeah," he smirked, winding his arm around her and moving her closer to his side.

"Yeah, _or_ , maybe it's that vintage car coming up the drive gave it away," Donna nodded ahead, smirking at having ruined the man's little impression moment.

"Couldn't let me have that one?" he asked with a frown.

"Nope," Donna moved ahead.

Minerva giggled as they followed the ginger, the Doctor grumbling under his breath.

~ 0 ~

The trio peered from around the side of the house they found their selves and saw an elderly man, Professor Peach, speaking with whom theu assumed was a butler of the house.

"You go on up. I need to check something in the library," Professor Peach was saying to another man, Reverend Golightly.

"Oh?"

"Alone," the professor clarified.

"It's supposed to be a party. All this work will be the death of you," the reverend followed him inside the house.

"So what happened to that alien planet?" Minerva looked at the Doctor, not upset she wasn't in a foreign planet, only curious.

"Like I said, terrible pilot," Donna shook her head, "But what better way to celebrate your return than a party in the 1920's!?"

Minerva shrugged with a bright smile, letting Donna know she was pretty happy with the results as well.

"The trouble is, we haven't been invited," the Doctor began as they returned towards the TARDIS, reaching inside his coat's pocket, "Oh, I forgot—-" he took out the psychic paper, "Yes, we have."

"What is that?" Minerva asked as they headed back for the TARDIS.

"Psychic paper, it allows me to sneak around when I need to be another person. It makes people see whatever I want them to see. For example, hello, my name's the Doctor and I'm the king of planet Zog," he showed the paper to Minerva so she could see.

She gasped, "Oh my god," she looked up, "You're king."

"King of the delusional maybe," Donna mumbled and opened the TARDIS doors, "C'mon Minerva, I want to be fully ready for the 1920's and that includes a dress of the decade."

"Where are you going to get the clothes?" she asked.

"Blimey, we really have to start from zero, don't we?" Donna shrugged and took Minerva's hand, "This thing-"

"She," Minerva corrected.

"Right, _she_ ," Donna nodded to the TARDIS, "Has a wardrobe with clothing for _every_ time period."

Minerva looked back at the Doctor for confirmation, "Are you serious?"

"Yup, that's where you get lost for hours at times," he nodded, "You like to play dress up."

"I have to see that!" the brunette immediately declared.

"Go on ahead, I'll wait here," he moved over and pecked her lips.

"I'll find something pretty to wear," she assured.

"You can wear a barrel and you'd still look lovely."

"Don't get any ideas, spaceman," Donna warned as she tugged Minerva into the box.

"Donna!" the Doctor cried after her, all he received were the ginger's teasing laugh.

~ 0 ~

"Almost done?" Donna shouted from Minerva's bedroom door.

The brunette had said she wanted some jewelry for her flapper outfit and so asked where her room was to which Donna gladly gave directions. But for some reason, she was taking a bit long. Inside the room, Minerva was rummaging through her room's drawers still unable to grasp the idea that the mysterious box contained a room just for her.

"I can't find anything," she called to Donna and turned for the door...when something shiny caught her eye.

She turned for her bed and saw a baby-blue necklace sitting on the floor of her bed. Curious, as that had not been there when she entered, she walked for the bed and reached to pick up the necklace.

"This is interesting," she remarked as she ran a finger through the necklace's two suns and one moon, "How'd you get in here?"

Completely fascinated, she removed her necklace the Doctor had gifted her with and fastened the blue necklace around her neck. Without noticing, her eyes flashed blue for a second.

"I think you complete my outfit," she looked down at the necklace with content and headed out.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor stood outside the TARDIS and knocked on its door, "Minerva, Donna, we'll be late for cocktails!"

The door opened up and Donna and Minerva stepped out wearing period dresses.

"What do you think? Flapper or slapper?" Donna questioned, striking a pose.

"Flapper. You look lovely," the Doctor remarked before his eyes went to trail Minerva over, "Very lovely..." he trailed off with a dreamy smile.

Minerva wore a dark blue flapper dress that reached above her knees. Black lace outlined the hemline of the dress and it's straps' edges. It contained a V-neckline with black lacing on the edges. Her entire hair was picked up into a sophisticated bun with only pins holding it up, it seemed like Minerva had finally learned from Martha. Only bits of strands fell out at the front, giving her that innocent look. She paired the whole outfit with short, black, Mary Jane's.

Minerva blushed and moved up, "Donna helped me pick out the dress. I love blue."

"I know you do..." his smile started to fade when he saw one specific object that he hadn't counted on, "...where'd you find that?" he reached to pick up the necklace on her neck..and received a burn on his finger, "Ow!" he jerked his hand away.

"Are you okay!?" Minerva gasped.

"Yeah, yeah, fine..." the Doctor lowered his burned finger and studied her, "...has it done that to you?"

"No, it's actually pretty cool, and I mean temperature-wise cool," she lifted the necklace, "Is it like some alien necklace?"

"Yeah...yes," he nodded deciding to keep the truth of the necklace hidden for the moment.

It struck him odd how the necklace didn't harm Minerva anymore. He wondered if this was what Zohar was talking about. He supposed...for the moment...he could allow the necklace to remain on her and see how it affected her.

"So does it look okay?" Minerva sheepishly asked, resting her hand over the necklace.

The Doctor looked at her for a moment and sighed lightly, "You look incredible," and she really did.

Now that the necklace didn't seem to harm her it actually did have a nice look on her. It almost seemed like it _belonged_ to her. The only thing he seriously hoped was that the darkness inside of it wouldn't affect her like it used to.

"Well enough of this, I want to go party," Donna nodded to ahead of them.

"Let's!" Minerva agreed and moved ahead.

Before Donna could follow, the Doctor pulled her back and looked at her with irritation, "Why did you give her the necklace?" he demanded.

"What? What are you talking about?" Donna frowned, "She said she found it in her room, remember?"

"That is Kaeya's necklace, and I wasn't going to give it to her yet."

Donna's eyes widened, " _That's_ the necklace you were talking about? How'd it get into her room? Didn't you say you had it locked up somewhere?"

"It was in _my_ room where Minerva has never been, how'd it get into hers?"

"Well I didn't do it!"

"If you didn't, and I didn't, then who did?" the Doctor asked, right after hearing the soft hum of the TARDIS behind them.

Slowly, the two turned their heads to the box, Donna a bit more creeped out, "Oh that's impossible," she discarded the idea and looked at the Doctor for agreement.

"Well..." he began.

"Oh c'mon! You're telling me the _box_ moved the necklace?"

"She can move rooms like no other, including what's inside of them," the Doctor sighed and closed the TARDIS doors, "And if she moved it...then she thinks it'll be alright..."

"So that's what we're going with? The _box's_ theory?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Look," the Doctor turned to face the ginger, "Apart from me, the TARDIS is the only other person that knows Kaeya _and_ Minerva nearly as much as I do. And if she thinks that it's okay for Minerva to wear the necklace then I trust her, because I know she loves Minerva as much as I do and we want the best for her."

Donna studied the man for a moment and sensed his honesty and pure belief. She supposed it could make sense and decided to see where it led to, "Alright, guess we should keep an eye on her, then."

"I can certainly do that!" the Doctor beamed and went after Minerva.

~ 0 ~

Minerva and the Doctor walked towards the party, with linked arms, and Donna beside them. Miss Chandrakala, the housekeeper, was instructing employees around in the garden, "Look sharp! We have guests."

"Good afternoon!" the Doctor greeted happily.

A young footman, Davenport, approached them, "Drink, sir? Madams?"

"Sidecar, please," Donna requested.

"And a lime and soda, thank you," the Doctor added before looking at Minerva for her request.

"Can I have lemonade?" she asked. The footman nodded and walked off.

"May I introduce Lady Clemency Eddison," the butler, Greeves, announced.

A petite blonde woman in a light, blue dress walked towards them, the Doctor taking the charade of being old friends and greeted her, "Lady Eddison!" he held a hand out for her.

"Excuse me, but who exactly might you be…and what are you doing here?" Lady Eddison asked, nonetheless shaking his hand.

"I'm the Doctor, this is Minerva Souza and that's Donna Noble," the Doctor gestured to each woman, "...they're with the uh..."

"We're the Chiswick Souza-Noble's," Minerva cut in, "Step-sisters, mother's an American, fell for her dad," she nodded to Donna, "And now here I am in London," she flashed a sweet smile, "You met my lovely husband first though, remember?"

" _Husband_?" the Doctor blinked and looked down at her in shock. She nodded and received a kiss on her cheek, "I like the sound of that," he admitted easily, loving her blush on her cheeks.

"Good afternoon, my lady," Donna tried her luck with a posh accent, "Topping day, what? Spiffing! Top hole!"

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't do that. Don't," the Doctor shook his head at her and held up the psychic paper to Lady Eddison, "We were thrilled to receive your invitation, my lady. We met at the ambassador's reception."

"Doctor, how could I forget you? But one must be sure with the Unicorn on the loose," Lady Eddison quickly followed the charade so she wouldn't look like a horrid host for not remembering her own invitees!"

"A unicorn? Brilliant. Where?" the Doctor cluelessly looked around as if an around unicorn were around.

"Uh, the Unicorn. The jewel thief? And nobody knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Babbington's pearls right from under her nose."

"Funny place to wear pearls," Donna remarked softly.

"May I announce the Col Hugh Curbishley, the Hon Roger Curbishley," Greeves announced again.

A young man was pushing an older man in wheelchair up to the group, "My husband. And my son," Lady Eddison gestured.

"Forgive me for not rising. Never been the same since the flu epidemic back in '18," the Colonel greeted.

"My word! You are a super lady!" Roger looked at Donna and took her hand to give it a kiss.

"Oh! I like the cut of your jib. Chin-chin," Donna replied with a chuckle.

"I''m the Doctor," the Doctor shook Roger's hand, "And this is..." he looked at Minerva with his own small blush as he recalled their little lie, "...my _wife_ , Minerva."

"Hello," Minerva said, shaking Roger's hand.

"An American! That's new," he remarked, "How do you do?"

"Very well, thanks," she replied.

"Your usual, sir," Davenport moved beside Roger.

"Ah, thank you, Davenport. Just how I like it," Roger took his drink.

"How come she's an Eddison but her husband and son are Curbishleys?" Donna whispered to the Doctor.

"The Eddison title descends through her. One day Roger will be a lord," he explained quietly as the butler announced the coming of a new woman.

"Miss Robina Redmond."

A young woman with brown hair dressed in a red dress approached them looking mighty confident of herself.

"She's the absolute hit of the social season. A must. Miss Redmond," Lady Eddison went to greet her.

"Spiffing to meet you at last, my lady," Robina said.

"Reverend Arnold Golightly," Greeves said.

"Ah, Reverend! How are you? I heard about the church last Thursday night, those ruffians breaking in," Lady Eddison moved onto the reverend.

"You apprehended them, I hear," the Colonel added.

"As the Christian fathers taught me, we must forgive them their trespasses. Quite literally," the reverend replied.

"Some of these young boys deserve a decent thrashing," Roger said.

"Couldn't agree more, sir," Davenport agreed, both sharing a longing look until Roger cleared his throat.

"Typical. All the decent men are on the other bus," Donna sighed.

"Or Time Lords," the Doctor mumbled.

"Good thing I've got mine right here," Minerva looked up at him, "As a _husband_."

"You said Time Lord," he blinked, "I never told you that was my species name."

"Oh! I just knew you were talking about yourself! I remembered it!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, both laughing in excitement. If she remembered that then who's to say she would't remember everything else soon?

"Now my lady, what about this special guest you promised us?" Reverend Golightly asked, the group unaware of the hugging couple except for Donna who shook her head in amusement at the two.

"Here she is. A lady who needs no introduction," Lady Eddison gestured to a blonde woman who was sheepishly walking up to them.

"Oh, no. Please don't. Thank you, Lady Eddison. Honestly, there's no need," Agatha Christie said as she went to shake Donna's hand, "Agatha Christie."

"What about her?" Donna shook her hand, oblivious the woman had meant it as her name.

"That's me."

"No! You're kidding!" Donna gasped.

"You're Agatha Christie!?" Minerva blinked, "As in the amazing book writer I just love!?"

Agatha shyly smiled and nodded, "Yeah..."

"Oh my god, hi!" Minerva shook her hand excitedly, "I love, love, love, your books! I've made him bring me the whole collection we have on you!"

At that, Minerva and the Doctor shared a look of more excitement. That was also something she happened to remember. This day was getting better and better!

"I was just talking about you the other day," the Doctor took his turn to shake Agatha's hand, "I said, "I bet she's brilliant". I'm the Doctor, that's Minerva, and this is Donna. Oh, I love your stuff! What a mind! You fool me every time. Well…almost every time. Well…once or twice. Well…once. But it was a good once."

"You make a rather unusual couple," Agatha eyed him...and Donna.

"Oh, no, no, no, no. We're not married," the Doctor quickly corrected, "Friends, _only_ friends," he looked at Minerva to make sure she didn't have any doubts on that.

He understood that while she was not mad at him for Marisol's trick, she was still fragile with the idea that she could lose him to Marisol. While the Minerva with all her memories knew for a fact that Donna had no interest in the Doctor, he wanted to make sure that this version of her with less memories still understood that. Her usual self already had to deal with her doubts concerning Rose and Kaeya, even though the second one was _her_ , he didn't want to take any chances of misunderstanding.

"We're not a couple," Donna added on.

"This is my wife," the Doctor said to Agatha, kissing Minerva's hair, "My lovely, American, wife."

"No wedding rings?" Agatha asked, eyeing their fingers bearing no such things.

"Uh...we didn't want them to be stolen by the Unicorn thief," Minerva explained, "Gotta be careful. They have a lot of value for us."

Agatha nodded and looked at Donna, "And Miss Donna, if I were you I'd stay single. The thrill is in the chase, never in the capture."

"I don't know, I loved the thrill of the capture," the Doctor mumbled as he looked at Minerva who just blushed and giggled.

"Mrs Christie, I'm so glad you could come. I'm one of your greatest followers," Lady Eddison said, making the blonde author turn, "I've read all six of your books. Uh, is, uh, Mr Christie not joining us?"

Agatha was more than displeased with the mention of her husband, "Is he needed? Can't a woman make her own way in the world?"

"Don't give my wife ideas," the Colonel chuckled, but Agatha was quite serious.

"Mrs Christie, I have a question. Why a Belgian detective?" Roger asked.

"Excuse me, Colonel," the Doctor took the Colonel's newspaper from his lap and moved to the side with Minerva.

"Belgians make such lovely buns," Agatha answered Roger's questioned and everyone laughed.

"Where on Earth's Prof Peach? He'd love to meet Mrs Christie," Roger looked around.

"Said he was going to the library," Reverend Golightly nodded to the house.

"Miss Chandrakala, would you go and collect the professor?" Lady Eddison requested.

"At once, my lady," the housekeeper headed for the house.

"What's so important about the newspaper?" Minerva asked quietly to the Doctor.

"The date," the Doctor pointed to the headline of the newspaper.

"What about it?" Donna asked, peering over his shoulder.

"It's the day Agatha Christie disappeared..."

Minerva immediately looked over to Agatha as the blonde smiled away to the group, "Doesn't she discover her husband was having an affair?" the Doctor nodded, "Poor Agatha..."

"You'd never think to look at her smiling away," Donna remarked.

"Well, she's British and moneyed. That's what they do—they carry on. Except for this one time. No one knows exactly what happened—she just vanished," the Doctor explained, "Her car will be found tomorrow morning by the side of a lake. Ten days later she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate. Said she'd lost her memory. She never spoke about the disappearance till the day she died. But whatever it was…"

"It's about to happen," Minerva mumbled, "Oh, can't we stop it?" she looked at the Doctor sadly, "Losing your memories isn't fun and I would really hope we could save her from it."

"Maybe we can do something, but who knows what really happened," the Doctor took her hand.

"But you're the Doctor, I'm sure you can do something if the time comes," she nodded without a doubt.

"The professor! The library! Murder! Murder!" Miss Chandrakala came running out of the house.

"Well, whatever happens we start helping now!" Minerva pulled the Doctor towards the house.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva burst into the library where the corpse of the professor laid on the floor. The Doctor hurried up to the corpse and checked for any wounds, "Bashed on the back of the head. Blunt instrument," he tapped the professor's watch, "Watch broke as he fell, time of death was quarter past four," he stood up where Minerva was already looking through papers on the desk.

"Bit of pipe. Call me Hercule Poirot but I reckon that's blunt enough," Donna looked at a pipe near the professor's corpse.

Agatha picked up a scrap of paper from the fireplace, thinking no one had seen her but was actually being watched by the Doctor.

"There's nothing in here that could give motive for a murder," Minerva let go of the papers and looked at the Doctor, "What happened?"

"Hold on, the body in the library? I mean, Prof Peach, in the library, with a lead piping?" Donna moved over to them, speaking lowly.

"Let me see!" Lady Eddison shouted from the hallway.

"Out of my way!" the Colonel exclaimed.

"Gerald!" Lady Eddison gasped at the sight of the professor.

"Saints preserve us," the Reverend said.

"Oh, how awful," Robina frowned.

"Someone should call the police," Agatha looked around.

"You don't have to," the Doctor took out his psychic paper for them to see, "Chief Inspector Smith from Scotland Yard, known as the Doctor. My lovely wife is my special assistant and Miss Noble is the plucky young girl who helps us out."

"I say," Lady Eddison blinked.

"Mrs. Christie was right. Go into the sitting room," the Doctor waved them to leave, "I will question each of you in turn."

"Come along. Do as the Doctor says. Keep the room undisturbed," Agatha ushered everyone out and closed the door behind them.

"I'm sorry, she gets 'lovely assistant' while I'm 'the plucky young girl who helps us out?'" Donna shot the Doctor a glare.

Minerva shook her head, "You can be an assistant too," she offered as the Doctor got on the floor to check for clues, "Besides, there were no policewomen in 1926."

"I'll pluck him in a minute," Donna muttered and then returned to business, "Why don't we phone the real police?"

"The last think we want is PC Plod sticking his nose in. Especially… " the Doctor pulled something from a crack in the floor with a tweezer, "...now I've found this," he stood up, "Morphic residue."

"That's not 1926," Minerva remarked, leaning against the desk as she felt a small pain on the side of her head.

"Gets left behind when certain species genetically re-encode," the Doctor explained.

"Hm, where've I'e seen that before?" Minerva waved a hand, her other rubbing her temple.

"Are you alright?" the Doctor moved to her side once he noticed her troubled face. He wondered if it was the necklace already affecting her, and negatively.

"Yeah, yeah, just a small pain. It's nothing to worry about," she faintly smiled.

"The murderer's an alien?" Donna asked while the Doctor watched Minerva with concern.

"Which means that one of the people downstairs is an alien in human form," Minerva said quietly, "It seems we like humans a lot."

"Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery and Agatha Christie."

"So?" the Doctor tore his gaze from Minerva to sniff the residue, "Happens to me all the time."

"It really does," Minerva closed her eyes for a moment, feeling like her head was about to explode for some reason. The pain had incredibly increased in less than two seconds.

"No, but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. That's like meeting Charles Dickens and he's surrounded by ghosts. At Christmas," Donna said and noticed the Doctor swaying his head at that, "Oh come on. It's not like we could drive across country and find Enid Blyton having tea with Noddy. Could we? Noddy's not real, is he? Tell me there's no Noddy."

"There's no Noddy, Donna," Minerva offered a small smile and started walking for the door.

"Minerva, wait," the Doctor followed, "Maybe you should go take a rest until the pain dies down. Or better yet, take that necklace off!"

"Next thing you'll be telling me…" Donna continued, "…It''s like Murder on the Orient Express and they all did it."

"Murder on the Orient Express?" Agatha appeared from an alcove in the stairs.

"One of your best," Minerva remarked absently, both her hands rubbing her temples.

"But not yet," the Doctor corrected, equally distracted only he was watching Minerva instead. He knew that pain had to be coming from the blasted necklace. Oh, he should rip that thing off her neck, not caring if it burned his whole hand.

"Marvelous idea, though," Agatha considered it for a future topic.

"Yeah, tell you what—Copyright: Donna Noble, yeah?" the ginger tried, a small smirk on her face.

"I think we should question the suspects," Minerva suggested, walking for the stairs again, "Donna and I can do the bedrooms and look for clues..." she stopped three steps up and gasped shakily, her eyes screwing shut.

"Minerva?" the Doctor hurried after and caught her in time as she was stumbling back, "Minerva?" he cradled her in his arms as he slowly sat down on the stairs.

"Is she alright?" Agatha eyed the brunette as she blinked lazily like she'd just woken up.

"Dizzy, that's all..." Minerva started coming around as the pain faded away from her mind...and was suddenly filled with something else.

"Maybe we should get her a glass of water," Donna suggested.

"I'll do it," Agatha offered and hurried off towards the kitchen while the other two helped Minerva to stand.

"Maybe the necklace is just too strong right now," Donna said to the Doctor, uncaring if Minerva would hear about it. After all, she'd probably ask anyways.

"It's fine," Minerva waved them off, still leaning on the Doctor a bit, "Pain's going away. Why won't we get to work on this mystery, huh?"

"Right..." of course the Doctor wouldn't simply let the subject go. Minerva was about to begin a process that would essentially rewrite her biology as well as parts of her personality and anything that went wrong or hurt her he would be there to look after her. The Doctor pulled out a large magnifying glass from his pocket and handed it to Donna, "You'll need this."

"Is that for real?" Donna raised an eyebrow, less than amused.

"Go on. You're ever so plucky," he smirked.

Donna took the magnifying glass and headed for the stairs, stopping besides Minerva, "Take it easy, yeah?" she preferred for Minerva to stay with the Doctor should she really need anything. As much as she wanted to help she knew only the Doctor would provide Minerva with the best care in the world.

"I will," Minerva smiled and watched her go.

"Are you sure the pain is gone, Minerva?" the Doctor gently pulled her down the remaining stairs, "I should've told you the necklace is actually the beginning of the process you have to go through right away. That probably could've persuaded you to leave it for the moment," as soon as the Doctor stepped onto the regular floor, Minerva spun him around and stared at him urgently, "Is...is something wrong?" the Doctor blinked, not expecting her to act like that.

But Minerva started smiling as her hands reached to his face, "Not right now..." she whispered, her fingers tracing the sides of his face, looking as if she'd...never seen him before.

"Clever Girl, you're-"

Minerva jumped into his arms excitedly and started kissing him. The Doctor stumbled back with the woman on him but nonetheless kissed back.

"What are you...?" he murmured.

"Mm, no, don't talk," she kissed harder to shut him up; he didn't understand.

"Right, yes," he managed to pull back for a second, "As lovely as this is-" Minerva kissed him again, "And it _is_ quite lovely," the Doctor tried again, "I can't help but question why-"

Minerva groaned and pulled away, "I'm trying to kiss my Martian and you're ruining the moment!"

"Right, sorry about that but..." the Doctor blinked as he realized, "...you called me Martian."

Minerva smiled and nodded, "Oh yes I did," she leaned forwards, her lips brushing on he spoke.

"And you hadn't remembered that..."

"Aha."

"So would that mean...?"

"That I recovered that memory? Try: I've recovered _all_ my memories, all my human ones anyways, a bit from my alien one.."

The Doctor's eyes widened, "Really!? Is this my Clever Girl!?"

"Mhm, happily with her Martian husband, apparently," she gave him a gentle kiss, "Oh I've missed you."

The Doctor laughed with joy, spinning them around as Minerva yelped, "That doesn't even _begin_ to explain how I've felt without you!"

"Yeah, it wasn't too good on my side either," she chuckled, "My mother's horrible, my cousin kissed you and I turned out to be a princess...well, that part wasn't bad," she smiled innocently.

"I know you must have a lot of questions about that," the Doctor set her on her feet, his hands remaining around her waist.

"Actually...I don't," Minerva got to thinking, "I've already got the idea of what she... _I_...did...it's so weird! It's like I have small little wisps of memories from the last life..."

"How does it feel?" the Doctor asked, seriously.

"I feel..." Minerva went silent for a moment, the complete idea of what was really going to be happening to her over the course of the next months, "...scared," she admitted, looking up at him, "I'm gonna be changing, externally," holding her arms out and looking at them, "...there used to be silver lines on these arms...and a little moon crescent right there," she held her right wrist, "I should be more enthusiastic that I'll regain _all_ my memories, alien ones, but I'm scared."

"Perfectly normal," the Doctor assured her, moving his hands to rest on either side of her face, "I know it's scary, and I know it won't be easy for you...but I swear to you I will be there through it all."

"I know that," Minerva smiled softly, "My Martian with me, makes it less scary honestly."

"Good," the Doctor placed a gentle kiss on her lips, his eyes drifting to the necklace she still wore, "Now, about the necklace-"

Minerva stepped closer and smirked, "Well, I'm sure we can talk all about that later tonight..." she trailed a finger down his chest.

"That's new," he blinked and stuttered.

"Well, my mind's about to get all jumbled up," she explained, "Bound to be new things coming around," she took his hand.

He smirked back and used their interlocked hands to twirl her around, "Well I'd love to figure out those new traits."

She chuckled as he moved her up against a wall, "I've missed this, you know? I know as much as you said you were happy that I accepted the truth during my amnesia, you were still upset you had to hold back all our little relationship quirks."

"A bit..." he admitted.

"I promise I'll start repaying you after this," she leaned on her toes and kissed him, the Doctor quickly deepening as he rejoiced his Clever Girl was truly back.

~ 0 ~

Agatha, the Doctor and Minerva were in the sitting room questioning Reverend Golightly, Minerva holding the glass of water Agatha had fetched for her. While she didn't quite need it at the moment, she didn't want to be rude and so accepted it nonetheless.

"Now then, Reverend… where were you at quarter past four?" the Doctor began the questionnaire, the reverend sitting on a chair in front of them.

"Let me think. Why yes, I remember…" Golightly began, "I was unpacking in my room."

"No alibi then?" Minerva asked

"You were alone?" Agatha added.

"With the Lord, one is never truly along, ladies," Golightly plainly said, making the trio heave small sighs.

~ 0 ~

"And where were you?" the Doctor asked the second suspect, Roger.

"Let me think. I was, uh… Oh yes, I was taking a constitutional in the fields behind the house...just taking a stroll, that's all."

"Alone?"

"Oh yes, all alone. Totally alone. Absolutely alone. Completely. All of the time. I wandered, lonely, as the proverbial cloud. There was no one else with me. Not at all...not ever."

Minerva raised an eyebrow, oh he was _such_ a liar. She knew that innocent little look and repeated words for emphasis...she used them with her grandmother whenever the Doctor and her were somewhere together where they shouldn't be...

~ 0 ~

"And where were you?" the Doctor questioned Robina.

"At a quarter past four…well, I went to the toilet when I arrived, and then, um…Oh yes, I remember. I was preparing myself. Positively buzzing with excitement about the party…and the super fun of meeting Lady Eddy."

"We've only got your word for it," Minerva remarked.

"That's your problem, not mine," Robina shrugged.

Minerva glared, her eyes flashing blue for a second which startled Robina. Minerva blinked and shook her head, that was certainly new. She had felt the cold spread to her eyes for a split second. Was that how Kaeya felt normally? Cold everywhere? It would definitely take some more alien memories before she could actually call herself 'Kaeya'. And even then, that name didn't seem to fit her anymore.

~ 0 ~

"And where were you, sir?" the Doctor asked the Colonel.

"Quarter past four? Let me think… Oh yes, I remember… I was sitting in me study reading through some military memoirs. Fascinating stuff. Took me back to me days in the army. Started reminiscing. Mafeking, you know. Terrible war..."

"Colonel, snap out of it," the Doctor said.

"Sorry, I was in me study—"

"No, no, no—right out of it."

"Oh, sorry. Got a bit…carried away there..." the Colonel looked at the three with a sheepish smile.

~ 0 ~

"And where were you at a quarter past four, my lady?" the Doctor asked Lady Eddison.

"Now let me see… Yes, I remember… I was sitting in the blue room taking my afternoon tea. It's a ritual of mine. I needed to gather strength for the duty of hostess. I then proceeded to the lawn where I met…you, Doctor…and I said "And who might you be and what are you doing here?" and you said, "I'm the Doctor, this is Minerva Souza and that's Miss Donna Noble…"

"We were there for that bit," Minerva cut in softly.

"Of course," Lady Eddison belched, "Excuse me..." she covered her mouth.

The trio looked at each other, it seemed like they would be getting no where...

~ 0 ~

Once finished questioning all the guests, the trio discussed the new knowledge, the Doctor and Agatha pacing back and forth while Minerva leaned against the desk.

"No alibis for any of them. The secret adversary remains hidden. We must look for a motive," Agatha said and took on a Belgian accent, "Use the little grey cells."

"Oh yes, little grey cells. Good old Poirot," the Doctor had stopped his pacing and walked for the chair the guests had been questioned in and sat down, tugging Minerva down on his lap, "Y''know, we've been to Belgium. Yeah, we remember…" he bean recalling that memory.

Minerva nodded, "I was supposed to learn how to camp properly because according to the Doctor over here," she shot him a playful-glare, "My current ones were improper."

"They were," he shrugged.

"Hm," she crossed her arms and legs then narrowed her eyes at him, "Shall I remind you that I spent numerous nights sleeping outside? I did a fantastic job!"

"Yeah..." his mind was a bit distracted at the moment...with her _legs_. Oh, they were lovely, _she_ was lovely...and in that _dress_ , well...

Minerva caught his trailing looks and shook her head. She leaned forwards and deeply kissed him, her hand resting on his chest when she pulled away, "Dear, I'm up here," she whispered to him, "And Miss Christie is over there," she reminded.

The Doctor blinked and nodded, suddenly remembering that there was a whole alien murderer to capture and whatnot. He looked at Agatha with an apologetic look...and a blush, "S-sorry."

"You two are newly-wedded, aren't you?" Agatha questioned, it was so obvious. That's how her husband used to treat her in the beginning...like she was the most beautiful and magnificent thing in the world. And now...well...he probably did that, yes...but to another woman.

"You can say that," Minerva responded, looking at the Doctor with a cheeky smile, "Some say out of the no where."

"But how wonderful it is," the Doctor put a hand over her cheek, "Like a fantasy..."

"Star-Crossed fantasy," she remarked, "It's been quite a journey to get to this point...even if I can't remember most of it."

"Getting lost again," Agatha called.

"Sorry," they both said.

"I bet that's the reason you miss big clues," Agatha shook her head, nonetheless amused by their easy distracted minds, "Newly weds should not be in the force."

"If you're talking about that bit of paper you nicked out of the fireplace then I shall correct you that I _did_ see you," the Doctor informed.

"You were looking the other way!" Agatha frowned.

"Yeah, but I saw you reflected in the glass of the bookcase."

"You crafty man..."

"Every so crafty," Minerva agreed, getting off his lap so he could stand.

"This is all that was left," Agatha pulled out the scrap of paper as the pair walked over to her.

"What's that first letter? N or M?" the Doctor asked.

"It's an M. The word is "maiden".

"Maiden!" he shouted, "What dos that mean?" he whispered to Minerva.

"I don't know," she shook her head.

Agatha sighed, "We're still no further forward. Our nemesis remains at large. Unless Miss Noble has found something."

~ 0 ~

Donna was searching upstairs and came across a locked bedroom door. She tried turning the knob over and over but sighed when it just wouldn't work.

"You won't find anything in there," the butler, Greeves, startled her.

"Oh! How come it's locked?" Donna fixed herself after being startled.

"Lady Eddison commands it so."

"And I command it otherwise. Scotland Yard, pip-pip," she ordered and Greeves did. While he unlocked the door, Donna noticed that blue light swaying at the end of the hallway, "Why is it locked in the first place?" she asked in an attempt to distract herself from that light. She didn't understand why but every time she saw the light it was as if she got into some type of trance.

"Many years ago, when my father was butler to the family, Lady Eddison returned from India with malaria. She locked herself in this room for six months until she recovered. Since then, this room has remained… undisturbed," Greeves stepped away from the door as Donna opened it up, "There's nothing in here."

"How long's it been empty?" Donna stepped inside, taking the disused room in. It was rather simple with a bureau, some shelves, a fireplace and a bed with a teddy bear.

"Forty years."

"Why would she seal it off? All right, I need to investigate. You just…butle off," she closed the door after Greeves left, walking a few steps further inside when the blue light emerged through the door. She turned around, crossed, "Alright, that's it! I now know that what Martha said isn't true. I know you're following _me_. I want to know why," she stepped up, hands on her hips.

The light merely rushed past her towards the window where a buzzing noise was coming from.

"1926, they've still got bees," Donna sighed and walked to the drape-covered window, "Fine, I'll get rid of the bee and then we'll talk," she warned the light and then shook her head, "Look at me, I'm talking to a _light_..." the light swarmed around her, making her laugh as she felt a tickle, "Alright, alright," she took on an accent, "I shall find you with my amazing powers of detection," she looked through the magnifying glass and opened the drapes of the window...to see a _huge_ wasp on the other side. It broke through the window, Donna screaming as she backed away, "That's impossible! Doctor!" the light rushed up to the bee and Donna was a bit surprised to hear the sound of crackles, her eyes widening to see actual bits of ice form around the bee thanks to the blue light. She took opportunity to run and made her escape.

"Doctor!" the stinger of the bee managed to come through the closed door behind her, making her scream just as the Doctor, Minerva and Agatha ran up to her, "There is a giant…wasp!" Donna turned to them with a heavy breath.

"What do you mean, giant wasp?" Minerva frowned.

"I mean a wasp that's giant!"

"It's only a silly little insect," Agatha shrugged.

"When I say "giant", I don't mean big, I mean flippin' _enormous_! Look at its sting!" Donna stepped aside and allowed them to see the stinger on the door.

"Let me see!" the Doctor opened the door of the room but found nothing else, "It's gone. Buzzed off," he went to the window and looked out.

"But that's fascinating," Agatha breathed at the sight of the stinger.

"D-D-D-D-D-D-Don't touch it. Don't touch it. Let me," the Doctor rushed back to the door and took out a vial with a stopper to gather a sample, "Giant wasp… Well, there are tons of amorphous insectivorous lifeforms but…none in this galactic vector."

"I think I understood some of those words. Enough to know that you're completely potty," Agatha shook her head.

"Lost its sting, though. That should make it defenseless," Minerva offered, seeing her ginger friend worked up about it.

"A creature this size? Gotta be able to grow a new one," the Doctor scoffed, unaware the small glare Minerva sent him. So much for her effort.

While the group walked down the stairs they heard a scream and so dashed for the direction, making their way outside to where Miss Chandrakala laid on the drive with a gargoyle on top of her, "The poor, little…child," she mumbled before dying.

At the sound of a buzz the Doctor looked up and saw the wasp, "There! Come on!"

~ 0 ~

The group ran up the stairs, "Well, this makes a change. There's a monster and we're chasing it," Donna shook her head.

"Can't be a monster. It's a trick. They do it with mirrors," Agatha insisted on the absurdity of the idea of a large alien wasp...until she actually saw it at the top of the stairs, "By all that's holy..."

"Oh, but you are wonderful!" the Doctor breathed at the sight.

"It tried killing Donna!" Minerva reminded as the wasp turned to face them.

"Now, just stop there..." the Doctor began when the wasp rushed for them, the group barely ducking before it passed over them.

"Oi! Flyboy!" Donna held up her magnifying glass. The wasp did nothing for a second and flew away.

"After it!" Minerva exclaimed.

"Are we really going to keep doing this? Chase after it?" Agatha questioned as they ran again.

"Well, we gave to find it before it reverts to human form!"

They ran to a hallway that consisted of the guest bedrooms.

"Where are you? Come on! There's nowhere to run—Show yourself!" the Doctor ordered, all the doors flinging open with each respective guest stepping out, "Oh…that's just cheating," the Doctor whined.

Minerva sighed and took his hand, "Murderers don't play fair, dear."

~ 0 ~

The entire household sat in a room where they were informed of Miss Chandrakala's death, Lady Eddison being the most affected, "My faithful companion! This is terrible!" she cried.

"Excuse me, my lady. She was on her way to tell you something," Davenport informed her.

"She never found me. She had an appointment with death instead."

"She said, "the poor little child". Does that mean anything to anyone?" the Doctor asked, eyeing them all with suspicion.

"No children in this house for years..." the Colonel looked at Roger, "...Highly unlikely there will be."

"Mrs Christie, you must have twigged something. You've written simply the best detective stories," Lady Eddison looked to the author for some thing.

"Tell us…what would Poirot do?" Golightly asked.

"Heaven's sake! Cards on the table, woman! You should be helping us!" the Colonel exclaimed, a bit less patient than the rest.

"But—I'm merely a writer..." Agatha tried remaining calm, but everyone's expectations were taking a toll on her.

"But surely you can crack it. These events, they're exactly like one of your plots," Robina added.

"That's what I've been saying. Agatha, that's got to mean something," Dona said.

"Maybe we should not expect for her to figure it all out on the spot," Minerva moved beside the author, understanding what it was like for everyone, her parents, to be expected so much out of, "Pressure isn't the way to figure a mystery murderer out."

"Thank you Miss Souza," Agatha nodded, having felt a somewhat comfort that not everyone expected her to crack the mystery, "I'm sorry everyone but I've got no answers. None. I'm sorry, all of you, I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, it's the Doctor, not me," she left the room and everyone looked at the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

"I told you, I feel fine now," Minerva kept telling the Doctor as he insisted on checking her for any injuries from the necklace and her head ache.

Donna had left to go talk to Agatha in an attempt to help her. The Doctor and Minerva had gone off to look into the vial of the wasp and study it. They returned to the sitting room where the Doctor kept insisting he needed to check her over.

"But I just want to be 100% sure," the Doctor said, trying to keep her head still so he could check her.

"Yeah right, you just want an excuse to have your hands on me," she smirked.

The Doctor wore a faint smirk as he looked over her head, "Well, I can't say that's not an advantage in all this buuut...I really am concerned for your health and well being."

She reached for his hands and pushed then down, "I told you, I don't feel anything bad. All I feel is my head beginning to be more...open. Like the alien memories are going to back soon, little by little."

" _Your_ memories," the Doctor reminded, knowing it was so tricky and confusing for her (and even him).

"I know that..." Minerva looked away for a moment.

She knew technically they were _her_ memories and life that would be coming back to her. But after living as 'Minerva Souza, the human' for eighteen years...it was more than justified to feel weird about claiming that other identity. It would be some time before she could openly say she was 'Kaeya', probably until she had a decent amount of memories back and part of her biology. For the moment, she was just Minerva, just going through a wonky process.

"It's okay," the Doctor kissed her forehead, "It's weird and it's probably uncomfortable, and all that stuff. It's alright to feel like that."

"The only thing that makes me happy is that by the end of this process thing...I'd get my lifespan back," Minerva admitted as she looked him in the eyes, "That's all I ever wanted as the human. A good lifespan to match yours," she put a hand on her cheek, "Even if I do have to spend it on the Monsoon, just as long as you come and visit me."

 _That_ sounded _exactly_ like Kaeya, the Doctor had to take a moment and process it. That was their routine back in their first incarnations. She would live on the Monsoon, live her entire life based on the visits he made to her. Sometimes, admittedly, he felt so guilty her life revolved around him. He'd liked for her to have made a family of her own like she deserved, with someone who could actually stay with her and not like him. Even if it would've hurt him and broken his hearts completely to see her with someone else, marrying them and reigning her beloved kingdom...he would've been happy that _she_ was happy. Now that he was looking at Minerva he just couldn't find that in himself. He couldn't be that selfish with her, right? He wanted her to be happy, yes...but with _him_ and _only_ him.

"This necklace," Minerva lifted the medium-sized pendant of the suns and moon, "I know you'll go into depth about it later, but I just want to know one thing. Why didn't you want to give it to me before?"

"Because it stores a lot of pain," the Doctor sighed, looking at the necklace shortly, "And I didn't want you to feel that pain at all. It contains all your pain from the war and your other life and...I didn't want you to hurt again," he rested a hand on her cheek, his thumb rubbing soft circles, "Not if I could help it this time."

She took his hand off her face and kissed the back of it, "I thank you my Martian but pain is inevitable, remember? You won't be able to protect me from it forever. But I always love it when you try. This one...this one I'm afraid is going to be those times when you can't, and that's okay. It won't be fun and it won't be easy, but just knowing that you'll be by my side comforts me so much."

"I wish there was more that I could do. I wish there could've been something I could've done centuries ago. I should've protected you, made you truly happy...instead, look at us..."

"I don't know about you, but I'm fairly happy where we are right now," she leaned off the desk and draped her arms around his neck, "I remember you completely, we're in 1926, with _Agatha Christie_ , and there's a mystery to be solved. I love the life you've given me...husband," she winked.

He smiled back, loving that she hadn't ridden herself of the title she'd appropriated while her memories were missing; _Wife_...he liked it. No, he _loved_ it.

"My wife..." he whispered, leaning down and softly kissing her.

"Doctor!" Donna and Agatha burst inside the room, "Quit the snogging and come look at this," she held up a box.

"Where'd you get that from?" Minerva asked as the two women walled over and placed the box on the desk.

"I found it in the bushes," Agatha said.

The Doctor opened up the case and found am array of tools, "Ooh…someone came tooled up…the sort of stuff a thief would use."

"The Unicorn is here," Minerva put a hand over her necklace. She didn't want anyone taking her necklace away, not when quite literally her life depended on her wearing it.

"The Unicorn and the wasp..." the Doctor stood straight.

"Your drinks, sir, madam," Greeves entered the room with the Doctor's and Minerva's drinks they ordered earlier.

"Very good, Greeves," the Doctor took his drink and Minerva's and handed it to her.

"Would either of you ladies care for a drink?" Greeves asked Donna and Agatha.

"No thank you," they both answered and the man left.

"What about the science stuff? What did you find?" Donna turned to the Doctor.

"Hm, Vespiform sting. Vespiforms have got hives in the Silifax Galaxy," he explained, taking out the vial and turning it.

"Again you talk like Edward Lear," Agatha remarked, finished with denying the situation.

"For some reason, this creature is behaving like a character in one of your books," Minerva remarked as she and the Doctor took a seat on the couch.

"Come on, Agatha. What would Miss Marple do?" Donna followed the author and both took a seat across the pair, "She'd overheard something vital by now because the murderer thinks she's just a harmless old lady."

"Clever idea. Miss Marple..." Agatha paused, "Who writes those?"

"Um, copyright: Donna Noble. Add it to the list."

"Donna," Minerva smiled amusingly at her ginger sister.

"OK, we could split the copyright," Donna shrugged.

"Minerva..." the Doctor quietly called, his hand grabbing her arm.

She looked at him, knowing something was wrong. She could _feel_ it, quite literally. She knew it was the necklace that was giving her that extra sense. It felt like 1913 when it warned her something was wrong with the fob watch's whereabouts.

"Something's inhibiting my enzymes, aaahh!" the Doctor jerked forward, "I've been poisoned!" he broke into convulsions.

"What do we do? What do we do?" Minerva dropped her glass onto the floor and tried sitting him straight.

Agatha took the Doctor's glass and sniffed it, crinkling her nose, "Bitter almonds—it's cyanide. Sparkling cyanide!"

The Doctor jumped from his seat and ran out the room, the three women rushing after him. He staggered inside the kitchen where he grabbed Davenport by the lapels, "Ginger beer!"

"I beg your pardon?" Davenport was startled by the man.

"I need ginger beer!" the Doctor ran to the shelves and grabbed the ginger beer, engulfing it down then pouring the rest over his head.

"I'm an expert in poisons, Doctor. It's fatal! There's no cure!" Agatha called as she, Donna and Minerva caught up.

The Doctor spat out his drink and gripped the table behind him, leaning for support, "Not for me! I can stimulate the inhibited enzymes into reversal. Protein! I need protein!"

Minerva quickly turned for the shelves and tool out a jar of walnuts, "Walnuts, here you go!" she rushed up to him.

"Brilliant!" he shoved them into his mouth and continued to talk, or at least _tried_ to talk.

"We can''t understand you!" Donna shook her head, the Doctor continuously shaking one of his hands, "How many words?" he held up one finger, "One. One word. Shake? Milk? Shake? Milk? Milk! No, not milk. U, shake, shake, shake—cocktail shaker! What do you want, a Harvey Wallbanger?"

"Harvey Wallbanger?!" he managed to swallow in time to ask.

"Well, I don't know!"

"How is Harvey Wallbanger one word?"

"Focus, Martian!" Minerva exclaimed, "What do you need!?"

"Salt! I was miming salt! Salt! I need something salty!"

"Oh!" Donna grabbed a brown bag on the counter and showed it to him, "What about this?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's salt."

"That's too salty!"

"Oh, that's too salty," she mimicked him and set the bag down.

Minerva shook her head and grabbed a jar of anchovies, "Try this," she handed it to the Doctor.

"What's that?" Donna asked while the Doctor downed it all.

"Anchovies," Minerva replied, staring at the Doctor with suspense, "What else? What else do you need?"

He gestured again with his hands up and palms out.

"What is it? What else? It's a song. "Mammy". I don't know, "Camptown Races"?" Donna tried.

"Camptown Races?!"

"Well, all right then. "Towering Inferno"."

"It's a shock! Look! Shock! I need a shock!" he cried, frustrated.

Minerva blinked when an idea popped into her head, "Donna!" she yanked the ginger to the side and whispered in her ear.

Donna's eyes widened as she looked between her and the Doctor, "N-n-n-no! I can't! He's your-"

"I'm asking you, please," Minerva sincerely smiled, letting Donna know she wouldn't harbor any resentment for what she was asked to do.

"All right, then, big shock coming up," Donna sighed and marched up to the Doctor, grabbing him by the lapels and kissing him.

After pulling away, the Doctor threw his head back and opened his mouth as a black smoke emerged from it. He groaned and wiped his mouth, his eyes widening as he realized what had just happened. Not again! "Minerva, I'm so-"

Minerva had rushed up to him and encased him in a big hug, "Detox, nothing to be sorry for. I asked her to," she looked up and got on her toes, softly kissing him.

"Doctor you are impossible!" Agatha breathed, the spectacle the man gave was just too much.

The couple pulled apart and turned to face the two women, the Doctor keeping Minerva in front of him so he could hug her from behind.

"My impossible Martian," Minerva leaned back on him with a smile.

~ 0 ~

The household sat in the dining room for dinner, none of them making a noise after such a day.

"A terrible day for all of us," the Doctor began, knowing no one would speak if he didn't, "The professor struck down, Miss Chandrakala cruelly taken from us, and yet, we still take dinner."

"We are British, Doctor. What else must we do?" Lady Eddison questioned.

"Could try to be more American and _do_ something about it," Minerva muttered, "Someone _poisoned_ my husband and I'm not happy. And I'm getting new traits so I may be aggressive now...you all should be careful."

The Doctor took her hand on the table, hoping to soothe her. Even if she said she was alright he didn't like exposing her to all this chaos, especially disliking the idea of a murderer being so close to her, "Any one of you had the chance to put cyanide in my drink. But it rather gave us an idea," he flashed a smirk.

"And what would that be?" Reverend Golightly asked.

"Well, poison," Minerva smirked when everyone stopped eating, "Drink up, everyone."

"My lovely wife came up with the idea to lace the soup with pepper," the Doctor lifted Minerva's hand up to his lips, "She's quite clever like that."

"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy," the Colonel chuckled as he tool a spoonful of his soup.

"But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine. Traditionally used as an insecticide," the Doctor explained, looking at the rest as thunder cracked in the background, "Oh, anyone got the shivers?"

Thunder crashed and one of the windows opened, allowing the wind in which blew out all the candles of the room and left everyone in the dark.

"What the deuce is that?" the Colonel gasped.

"Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen!" the Doctor tried shushing the guests as a buzzing noise emerged.

"No…no, it can't be!" Lady Eddison cried suddenly.

"Show yourself, demon!" Agatha rose from her seat.

"Nobody move! No, don't! Stay where you are!" the Doctor ordered, gripping Minerva's hand in his. The last thing he needed was to lose his Clever Girl in the midst of all this.

The Vespiform showed itself and caused chaos. Greeves ushered Donna out of the room while the Doctor and Minerva yanked Agatha out.

"Not you, Agatha. You've got a long life to lead yet," the Doctor said to her once they were out in the hallway outside the dining room, grabbing a sword from the display wall.

"Please put that down," Minerva wearily eyed the sword. She was never one for weapons but for some reason she felt uneasy of swords with their sharply ends. Then again that would probably be because she'd _died_ because she was stabbed with a knife...

"Stay here, dear," the Doctor kissed her and rushed out.

"Not a chance," Minerva mumbled before running after him.

"My jewelry…the Firestone—it's gone! Stolen!" Lady Eddison was crying when they entered the dining room again, now fully lit with lights again.

"Roger..." Davenport sadly gazed upon the young man who bore a knife on his back with his head in his soup bowl.

Robina screamed while Lady Eddison stood up and walked around the table to her son's seat, "My son…my child!"

~ 0 ~

Back in the sitting room, the Doctor stood by the fireplace while Agatha and Minerva sat on the sofa. Donna entered the room with a deep sigh, "That poor footman. Roger's dead and he can't even mourn him. 1926. It's more like the dark ages," she sat down beside Minerva

"Did you enquire about the necklace?" Minerva asked.

"Lady Eddison brought it back from India. It's worth thousands."

"This thing can sting, it can fly… It could wipe us all out in seconds—why is it playing this game?" the Doctor asked, mumbled, to himself more like it.

"Every murder is essentially the same—they are committed because somebody wants something," Agatha said.

"What does a Vespiform want?" Minerva looked at the Doctor curiously, "They're _wasps_..."

"Stop it. The murderer is as human as you or I," Agatha snapped.

"You're right. I've been so caught up with giant wasps, I've forgotten," the Doctor blinked, "You're the expert!"

"Look, I told you. I'm just a…purveyor of nonsense," Agatha shook her head.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, 'cause plenty of people write detective stories, but yours are the best. And why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie? Because you understand. You've lived…you've fought…you've had your heart broken. You know about people—their passions, their hope and despair and anger, all of those. Tiny huge things can turn the most ordinary person into a killer. Just think, Agatha. If anyone can solve this, it's you."

Agatha looked at the trio with doubt, surprised they all had such faith on her...perhaps...there maybe was an idea in her head...

~ 0 ~

Later on, the entire household was called into the sitting room where the Doctor stood at the front by the fireplace, "I've called you here on this endless night because we have a murderer in our midst. And when it comes to detection, there's none finer… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Agatha Christie," he went to sit beside Minerva.

Agatha took the Doctor's place at the head of the room, "This is a crooked house…a house of secrets. To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you…Miss Redmond."

"But I'm innocent, surely," Robina said like it was obvious.

"You've never met these people and these people never met you. I think the real Robina Redmond never left London. You're impersonating her!"

"How silly," Robina rolled her eyes, "What proof do you have?"

"You said you'd been to the toilet…"

"Oh, I know this—if she was really posh, she'd say "loo"," Donna munched on some grapes.

"Earlier today, Miss Noble and I found this on the lawn…" Agatha picked up the tool case, "…right beneath your bathroom window. You must have heard Miss Noble was searching the bedrooms and you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence."

"I've never seen that thing before in my life," Robina shook her head, acting as indignant as possible.

"What's inside it?" Lady Eddison asked.

"The tools of your trade, Miss Redmond, or should I say…the Unicorn," Agatha opened up the case for everyone to see, "You came to this house with one sole intention—to steal the Firestone!"

"Oh, all right then. It's a fair cop," Robina now took on a Cockney accent and stood up, "Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it," she reached under the her dress strap and pulled out Lady Eddison's necklace, " Go on then, ya nobs, arrest me. Sling me in jail," she threw the necklace which the Doctor caught.

"So, is she the murderer?" Donna asked.

"Don't be so thick. I might be a thief but I ain't no killer."

"Quite. There are darker motives at work," Agatha agreed and turned, "And, in examining this household…we come to you…Colonel."

"Damn it, woman! You with your perspicacity! You've rumbled me!" the Colonel... _stood_ up.

"You—you can walk? But why?" Lady Eddison gasped.

"My darling, how else could I be certain of keeping you by my side?"

"I don't understand..."

"You're still a beautiful woman, Clemency. Sooner or later, some chap will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you," the Colonel threw an irritated glare at Agatha, "Confound it, Mrs Christie! How did you discover the truth?"

Agatha was just as surprised as the other, "Um, actually, I had no idea. I was just going to say you were completely innocent."

"Ah… Oh..."

"Sorry."

"Well, shall I sit down then?"

"I think you better had."

"So he's not the murderer?" Donna asked while the Colonel sat down.

"Indeed not. To find the truth…let's return…" Agatha took the Firestone necklace from the Doctor, "…to this—far more than the Unicorn's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison."

"I've done nothing!"

"You brought it back from India, did you not? Before you met the Colonel. You came home with malaria and confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been locked ever since, which I rather think means..."

"Stop, please!" Lady Eddison was nearly close to tears.

"I'm so sorry. But you had fallen pregnant in India…unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid, later to become housekeeper, Miss Chandrakala."

"Clemency! Is this true?" the Colonel turned to her, completely shocked.

"My poor baby. I had to give him away. Oh, the shame of it," Lady Eddison shook her head.

"But you've never said a word!"

"I had no choice. Imagine the scandal, the family name. I'm British—I carry on."

"And it was no ordinary pregnancy," the Doctor remarked, capturing her attention.

"How can you know that?"

"Excuse me, Agatha, this is my territory. But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said, "It can't be". Why did you say that?"

"You'd never believe it," Lady Eddison looked to the side.

"The Doctor has opened my mind to believe…many things," Agatha said.

"It was forty years ago…in the heat of Delhi one night. I was alone and that's when I saw it—a dazzling light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house—Christopher, the most handsome man I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire and I held nothing back. And in return, he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He made himself human to learn about us. This was his true shape. I loved him so much it didn't matter. But he was stolen from me. 1885, the year of the Great Monsoon. The River Jumna rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. But Christopher left me a parting gift—a jewel like no other. I wore it always. Part of me never forgot. I keep it close. Always."

"Just like a man—flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven," Robina shook her head.

"Oh quiet," Minerva scolded, actually feeling touched by Lady Eddison's story.

It made her wonder of...her _birth_ parents. The flesh and bone who actually conceived her and cared for her for so many centuries. How did they meet? Was it arranged like the Doctor's previous marriage was? Or was it spontaneous and random like Lady Eddison's story? She placed a hand over her necklace and sighed quietly, wondering if these were the questions that would start filling her head first.

"A "poor little child". Forty years ago, Miss Chandrakala took that newborn babe to an orphanage. But Prof Peach worked it out. He found the birth certificate," Agatha continued with the revelation.

"Oh, that's "maiden"—maiden name," Minerva pointed.

"Precisely."

"So she killed him," Donna nodded, looking at Lady Eddison.

"I did not!"

"Miss Chandrakala feared that the professor had unearthed your secret. She was coming to warn you," Agatha explained.

"So she killed her," Donna said, wanting someone to confirm this for her.

"I did not!

"Lady Eddison is innocent. Because at this point… Doctor?"

"Thank you," the Doctor stood up, "Because at this point when we consider the lies and secrets and the key to these events, then we have to consider…it was you, Donna Noble…-" he pointed at Donna.

"What? Who did I kill?" Donna blinked.

"No one, Donna. He's just being dramatic," Minerva mock-glared at him, "Stop it."

"Sorry," he sighed and got right back on track, "Donna you said it all along, the vital clue—that this whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery. Which means…it was you, Agatha Christie," And he pointed at Agatha.

"Doctor," Minerva called again.

"I beg your pardon, sir?" Agatha raised an eyebrow.

"So she killed them," Donna nodded.

"No, but she wrote. She wrote those brilliant, clever books. And who's her greatest admirer? The moving finger points…at you, Lady Eddison," the Doctor then pointed at her. Minerva sighed, giving up.

"Leave me alone!" Lady Eddison cried.

"So she did kill them," Donna pointed.

"No, but just think…last Thursday night, what were you doing?" the Doctor asked Lady Eddison.

"Uh, I was uh…I was in the library. I was reading my favorite Agatha Christie thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be. How is that relevant?"

"Just think—what happened Thursday night?" he turned to Golightly.

"I'm sorry?" the reverend blinked, not expecting all the eyes to land on him.

"You said on the lawn this afternoon, last Thursday, those boys broke into your church."

"That's correct…they did. I discovered the two of them—thieves in the night. I was most perturbed. But I apprehended them."

"Really? A man of God against two strong lads? A man in his forties? Or, should I say, forty years old…exactly."

"Oh, my God!" Lady Eddison cried at the realization.

"Lady Eddison, your child—how old would he be now?" the Doctor asked her.

"Forty. He's…forty."

"Your child has come home..."

"Ha!" Golightly shook his head, "This is poppycock!"

"Oh? You said you were taught by the Christian fathers, meaning, raised in an orphanage."

"My son! Can it be?" Lady Eddison stared at Golightly with hope.

"You found those thieves, Reverend, and you got angry. A proper, deep anger for the first time in your life and it broke the genetic code. You changed..." the Doctor could not help the glance he gave to Minerva. She was staring at the Reverend, probably feeling some sort of empathy. Emotions were what helped _her_ break through and begin her process, "You realized your inheritance. After all these years…you knew who you were. Oh, then it all kicks off 'cause this…" the Doctor held up the Firestone, "…isn't just a jewel—it's a Vespiform telepathic recorder. It's part of you—your brain, your very essence. And when you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And, at the same time...It absorbed the works of Agatha Christie directly from Lady Eddison. It all became part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You killed in this pattern because that's what you think the world is. Turns out we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Dame Agatha."

""Dame"?" Agatha raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry, not yet."

"So he killed them? Yes? Definitely?" Donna asked for the final time.

"Yes," Minerva sighed, so unhappy with the unraveling events.

Everything seemed so familiar to her. This man, thinking he was human for forty years suddenly came to learn that he was actually an alien. And to be activated by a _necklace_...well, it was like they were parallel stories. And if he ended up being a murderer...who's to say that she couldn't end like him? The brain was a powerful and delicate thing, her personality changing could change her as a person.

"Well, this has certainly been a most entertaining evening. Really, you can't believe any of this, surely, Lady Eddizzz..." the reverend tried to say when that z sound spurred in his mouth.

"Lady who?" the Doctor asked.

"Lady Eddizzzon…"

"Little bit of buzzing there, Vicar?"

"Don't make me angry," Golightly stood up.

"Why? What happens then?"

"Damn it! You humanzzz! Worshipping your tribal sky godzzz! I am so much more! That night, the universe exploded in my mind! I wanted to take what wazz mine. And you, Agatha Christie, with your railway station bookstall romancezzz… What'zzz to stop me killing you?"

"Oh, my dear God!" Lady Eddison reached for him, "My child!"

"What'zzz to stop me killing you all?" the reverend transformed into his wasp figure.

"Forgive me!"

"No, Clemency!" the Colonel yanked her back with Greeves to the door, "Keep away! Keep away, my darling!"

"No! No more murder! If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you, foul creature!" Agatha held the Firestone necklace and ran out of the room.

The trio followed Agatha with the Vespiform right behind them, "Wait! Now it's chasing us!" Donna cried as made it outside where they shut the door in a void attempt to stall the Vespiform.

"Over here! Come and get me, Reverend!" Agatha honked on her car as she drove through the driveway just as the wasp broke through the door.

"Agatha, what are you doing?" Minerva asked, frantically looking between her and the Vespiform that followed.

"If I started this then I must stop it!" and Agatha drove off ahead.

"Come on!" the Doctor tan over to another car and quickly started it up to follow the author and Vespiform.

~ 0 ~

"You said this is the night Agatha Christie loses her memory," Donna reminded as the Doctor drove after Agatha's car.

"Time is in flux, Donna! For all we know, this is the night Agatha Christie looses her life and history gets changed!"

"But where is she going?!" Minerva questioned, looking ahead as they lost sight of Agatha's car far ahead.

"The lake! She's heading for the lake! What's she doing?" the Doctor shook his head.

~ 0 ~

Agatha stopped beside the lake and got out of her car just as the trio arrived behind, she held up the Firestone, "Here I am! The honey in the trap. Come to me, Vespiform."

"She's controlling it," Donna remarked as they hurried towards Agatha.

"It's mind is based on her thought processes. They're linked," the Doctor explained.

"Quite so, Doctor. If I die, then this creature might die with me," Agatha swallowed, prepared to make her sacrifice.

"Don't hurt her! You're not meant to be like this. You've got the wrong template in your mind," the Doctor called to the Vespiform.

"Listen to us, please,' Minerva stepped up, unaware of the concerned gaze the Doctor had on her as she neared closer to the lake, "Listen to _me_...I...I literally _just_ discovered I'm...I'm not human, I'm an alien of some sort...and everything I am is in here," she placed a hand over her necklace, "While another part is roaming around us...and...and I'm nervous, I'm scared of what could happen to me because...this is way out of my boundaries. I understand you more than you think, and if you stop then I can help, _we_ can help you, I promise. We're not killers, that's not who we are, we're _humans_ despite what our genetic code has to say and we cling onto that."

The Vespiform remained in place for a minute or two when it suddenly rushed for them. The Doctor yanked Minerva back as Donna snatched the Firestone from Agatha and threw it into the lake. It dove into the water after it...only to drown seconds later, the water bubbling and glowing purple.

"How do you kill a wasp? Drown it. Just like its father," Donna sighed.

The Doctor hugged Minerva tightly behind, feeling her tremble. She'd let out her actual feelings on her problem and had tried to reach out to the only other possible being that could feel exactly what she was feeling...and it chose to ignore her.

"Death comes as the end. And justice is served," Agatha quietly said.

"But he didn't know any better," Minerva whispered, "He couldn't have..."

"Sh, sh," the Doctor kissed her temple, "It'll be alright."

"Just one mystery left, Doctor. Who exactly are you?" Agatha turned to them, eyeing Minerva, "And your wife?" Minerva had said she discovered she wasn't human..which meant...

Suddenly, Agatha doubled over in pain, Donna quickly helping her lower herself to the ground.

"Oh! It's the Firestone! It's part of the Vespiform's mind! It's dying and it's connected to Agatha!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"You can't kill anymore!" Minerva shouted to the lake, as if she could still be heard by the Vespiform, "We're human, remember that! We're not what some stupid necklace says we are!"

Agatha glowed purple like the lake was and started fading away as she fell unconscious.

"It let her go. Right at the end, the Vespiform chose to safe someone's life," the Doctor blinked, turning to Minerva and taking her hands, turning her head away from the lake, " _You_ got through his head. You made him save her life..."

"But I couldn't save _his_ life," she whispered, her eyes falling down.

"But you saved _a_ life, and that's something, right?" he moved aside and allowed her to see Agatha.

"A life is a life," Minerva nodded.

"Is she all right, though?" Donna looked at the pair.

"Oh, of course! The amnesia!" the Doctor exclaimed as realization struck him, "Wiped her mind of everything that happened. The wasp, the murders…"

"And us. She'll forget about us," Minerva pointed out.

"Yeah, but we solved another riddle—the mystery of Agatha Christie. And tomorrow morning, her car gets found by the side of the lake. A few days later, she turns up at a hotel in Harrogate…with no idea of what just happened."

~ 0 ~

The trio stood across Agatha who made some steps up towards a front lawn of a stone building. She turned and looked around, confused.

"No one'll ever know..." the Doctor said, the trio standing by the TARDIS watching Agatha go.

"Lady Eddison, the colonel, and all the staff—what about them?" Donna asked.

"A shameful story. They'd never talk of it—too British. While the Unicorn does a bunk back to London Town, she can never say she was there."

"The British," Minerva shook her head.

"But what happens to Agatha?" Donna questioned.

"Oh, great life! Met another man, married again. Saw the world. Wrote and wrote and wrote."

"She never thought her books were any good, though," Donna sighed, "And she must have spent all those years wondering."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor led them back into the TARDIS, "Thing is, I don't think she ever quite forgot."

"Of course not, nothing is ever truly forgotten," Minerva said, smiling at him, "Just look at me. I couldn't remember what was missing from my life for two weeks and yet I knew there was something missing because I felt so empty. But I always had those dreams, those little snippets during the day..."

The Doctor wound an arm android her, pulling her closer to give her a kiss, "Our love just can't be beat," she nodded in agreement, "Great mind like Agatha's, some of the details kept bleeding through," he continued on for Donna, "All the stuff her imagination could use. Like Miss Marple!"

"I should have made her sign a contract," Donna mumbled.

"And—where is it? Hold on… Here we go," the Doctor lifted a section of the floor and pulled out a chest marked "C", "That is "C" for Cyberman," he tossed aside a Cyberman chest plate, "C for Carrionites," he set down the globe they were imprisoned in and even took out a bust of Caesar, "And… Christie, Agatha," he tool out a paperback book of said author, "Look at that."

Donna took the copy of the book, _Death in the Clouds_ , which had a cover of a large wasp on the cover, "She did remember."

"Somewhere at the back of her mind, it all lingered. And that's not all. Look at the copyright page," the Doctor instructed.

Donna opened up to the page and read aloud, "Facsimile edition published in the year…5 billion!?"

"People never stop reading them. She is _the_ best-selling novelist of all time."

"But she never knew," Donna sighed.

"Well, no one knows how they're gonna be remembered. We can only hope for the best. Maybe that's what kept her writing. The same thing that keeps me travelling. Onwards?"

"Onwards," the ginger agreed and smiled.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva were walking towards Minerva's bedroom, silently...

The Doctor was concerned for her, well _more_ as he usually always was concerned nowadays. He knew that this adventure hadn't settled down right for her. She'd found someone similar to her and then lost it in a second, what was more was that it happened to be a murderer. He knew that would affect her and he could only hope he'd have the right words and comfort that would help her.

"Will you stay tonight with me, too?" she broke the silence and looked up at him.

"Do you want me to?"

She nodded, gripping his hand, "You heard me, I'm afraid. I don't want to sleep alone and I know that you don't technically sleep every day but could you just stay until I fall asleep?"

"I got a better idea," they stopped at her door where he backed her up against it, "How about I stay for the _entire_ night, just like always?"

"That...that would be nice..." she admitted, nodding.

"Yeah?" he leaned closer to her.

"Mhm..." she closed her eyes as she felt his lips press on hers. After a day like this, that was really the only thing she wanted to have. She needed him close by and offering those comforting kisses of his, "...thank you, husband," she murmured on his lips.

"Anything for you, wife..." he set his hands on her waist and stepped closer, her hands moving up his arms, their kiss becoming slower.

He felt so lucky to have her back in his arms again, after two weeks which literally seemed like an eternity for him. He needed to know that even if she was transforming into someone else that she would love him like her human self did. And he felt it, he did. Just by how she kissed him, by how she touched him, he could feel that their love was the same. He felt extremely lucky to have her, to have this kind of woman with him. He never wanted it to end, to have her go. Today, as bad as it had been, did show him something he absolutely loved and would give anything to make it happen...so without hesitation, he spoke two important words...

"Marry me..." he whispered to Minerva.

Minerva, partially dazed from such a kiss, blinked rapidly and looked at him with curious eyes, "Wh-what did you just say?"

"Marry me," he repeated, resting his forehead on hers, "All of today I got to call you my wife and now that we know who you really are...it reminded me how much we used to think about marrying. You gave me a preview of what it would be like today...and I never want it to stop. I want you to be my wife. I _need_ you to be my wife."

Minerva was left speechless for a couple of minutes as she replayed his words and sorted out her feelings on the case, "Um...but I...I'm sort of in this whole mess and stuff, and..."

"And this would change nothing. I'd be fighting to save my wife instead of my girlfriend. I'd love to do that..."

She closed her eyes and took a small breath, "Doctor," she began, her hands resting on his face, "I love you with everything I have. I would love nothing more than to be your wife and to have you as my husband," he nodded silently, "...but I can't accept it," her heart broke at how his face fell into clear disappointment and heartsbreak.

"What?" he stepped back, "You...you don't want to..."

"I didn't say that," she quickly said, stepping up to him only to have him step away again. She sighed, "Just let me explain to you my reasons-"

"I don't think I have to hear them,' he cut her off, swallowing hard as he looked away, "I think it's pretty clear what you want and don't want."

"No, that's not true. It's not that I don't want to it's that I can't."

"Can't?" the Doctor bitterly laughed, his eyes shiny as he suppressed the oncoming tears from his hearts break, "Yeah, that _really_ makes it better," he took a shaky breath.

"Oh, probably not my best choice of words," Minerva admitted and thought for a moment, only to realize the Doctor was already hurrying away from her, "No, Martian! Come back!" she called after him.

"I want to be alone," he snapped and turned to a new corridor, leaving Minerva alone.

She turned for her bedroom door and headed inside, looking around with tears in her eyes. She bit her lip as she did her best not to burst in sobs but that turned out harder than it looked.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor grumbled as he tried fixing a part of the console...any part of the console as long as it distracted him. He did his best to ignore the constant humming of the TARDIS, just knowing she was trying to defend Minerva and make him go back to her to talk. So when the console phone rang, he was no were near the welcoming soul to the ringer, "What?"

"Ouch, what the hell is wrong with you?" Zohar's voice emerged from the other line, "Is that how you greet a fellow friend?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and set the phone to speaker, "What do you want?"

"I was just calling to inform you that most of the Moontsay's information couldn't help us with Minerva. There's some stories though you may want to look over, perhaps it's useful. But now _I_ want to know what's wrong with you."

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered.

"That's not what it sounds like to me!"

"Go away, Zohar."

Right now, the Doctor saw Zohar as a friend to the woman who refused to marry him. It hurt and he didn't want to feel even worse.

"I'm over the phone, stupid," Zohar reminded, "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"I said no now goodbye," the Doctor reached to end the call.

"Is it about Minerva?" the question made him freeze, even the mention of his Clever Girl's name hurt him when he remembered her refusal, "It is, isn't it?" Zohar sighed, "What happened?"

The Doctor pulled his hand away from the phone, his anger dying down a bit, "...I asked her to marry me," he mumbled.

"What!? Oh my god!" she laughed joyfully.

"And she refused..."

"What?"" she gasped, now understanding his odd behavior now, "Oh my god."

"And I don't want to talk about it."

"Why didn't she accept?"

"She said she had her reasons."

"Okay, and what were they?"

The Doctor remained silent, knowing he hadn't allowed Minerva to explain, "I don't know...I left before she said."

"What!? Why'd you do that!?"

"Oh I'm sorry, the women who I love refused to marry me so I was a bit upset, mind you," he rolled his eyes and moved away from the phone.

"But you don't know why she refused. I may not know this second incarnation so well but I know _Kaeya_ and she would _never_ refuse to marry you. She loves you!"

"Not enough to marry me, apparently," he mumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back on the console.

"No, I don't believe that. I believe there's powerful motives for her to say no. Go talk to her!"

"No!"

"Doctor! What's your plan, then? Avoid her in your own spaceship?"

"No...the plan is...well, the plan is...oh shut up!" he returned back to the phone.

Zohar just chuckled, "Don't be an idiot. You just got her back, are you really going to lose her again? Permanently?"

He knew the answer was an outright 'no' but the thought of talking to her after...well, after she said she didn't want to marry him, pained him. He was afraid of her reasons and he believed that choosing not to hear them would be less painful. But that came at the price of losing her and that was worse.

"Talk, Doctor. Haven't you heard? Communication is key. Now, unlike most Moontsays that despise Time Lords, I know that you truly, sincerely, love Minerva, and I know that you're not going to leave this situation like it is. Go and talk to her, find out what's going on," with that, Zohar hung up.

The Doctor sighed, looking back at the corridors...

~ 0 ~

Minerva's bathroom was filled with steam, a decent amount escaping through the cracked open door. She was laying in a bathtub, her head resting back on its edge, her eyes closed. After the incident with the Doctor, she decided she wasn't going to cry a whole river. She would wait until the Doctor cooled off enough to listen to her. She had cried enough in the past and she wouldn't continue that this time. Apart from that, she knew that _she_ had been like that before and so would follow what the Doctor had done before. So, in the end, she opted for a nice bath that would help her maintain this calm persona. It was relaxing actually. She was never one for baths, she preferred showers; they were quick and less work. She suspected the bath routine belonged to Kaeya, her past life.

"Minerva?"

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the Doctor's voice, "I'm in here!" she called without thinking.

"Minerva?"

"In here!" she called again as she looked for her towel, "Come in, please."

The Doctor opened the door, blinking when he saw the steam and even more when he saw trying to reach for her towel, "Sorry!" he immediately turned back for her room.

"No, wait!" as calm as she tried to be, she knew her human trait was to be impulsive at times and she wasn't about to let him escape from her so easily, "Can you just give me my towel, please?"

Nervously, he turned for her again and walked over, picking up the white towel and handing it to her. He turned away from her while she stood and wrapped it around herself.

"You can turn," she softly said. He did so and breathed in, not helping the forced trail he had to make of her body while it was wrapped in just that towel, "We need to talk," she held her hand for him.

"Yeah..." he whispered, taking her hand and helping her step out of the bathtub, forcing his gaze to remain only on her face.

"Just hear me out, no interruptions until I'm done, okay?" she raised an eyebrow, he nodded and so she began, "When I said I couldn't marry you it wasn't because I didn't _want_ to marry you. I would _love_ to walk down the aisle and see you across waiting for me...but I just can't right now," she felt awful of how his face contorted with all his pain from her words, "Doctor, listen to me," she rested her hands on either side of his face, making him look at her whether he wanted to or not, "That doesn't mean I don't love you because I do, with all my being. Right now, I'm literally transforming into someone new. And what if, at the end, you don't love who I am anymore?"

"That would never happen," he quietly argued, "I loved Kaeya and I love you. I don't care who you decide to be, I love _you_. It doesn't matter what your face looks like, what species you are, it's clear that I will love who you are inside."

"But this is different now. I'm going to be changing, physically and emotionally and biologically. What I did to survive is going to change me now because it went wrong. And what if we got married right now? Then, in the end, I turn into someone new...and you can't love me anymore. I'd rather wait until this is over, until I finish this wonky process and you can take a good look at me and decide if you still love me. I didn't say no to your proposal, I'm saying 'maybe later, if _you_ want'."

The Doctor took her hands from his face to give each a kiss, his anger disappearing the moment he heard her words. While he didn't agree with her reasons, he understood she was doing it with good intentions, "I'll respect your reasons but I want you to understand that I'll love whoever you decide to be. I just want to marry you..."

She let a small smile escape her lips, "I'd like to marry you too," she whispered, "But when everything is better. When I picture myself walking down that aisle, I want to be completely happy. I don't want to be worrying during the ceremony thinking of the chance that I could change at that moment. I don't want to hurt you, I'm trying to prevent the hurt, the pain, by doing this."

"Okay," he agreed, "I get it. I don't think you're right because I'd love you forever and ever," they shared a smile with each other, "But I'll wait if I have to. I'd wait for you forever..." he started kissing her fingers, making her giggle, "...and ever...and ever...and ever..."

"Okay, okay, okay! I get it!" she laughed, "I'm glad we're okay, then. It's not a 'no' it's a maybe later if you want."

"Oh I want," he wound an arm around her waist, almost wincing when he remembered there was only a towel around her.

Minerva blushed as she too remembered her state, she bit her lip, "I think I should go shower, now. I think I'll keep that human trait, I don't really like baths, I prefer showers."

The Doctor nodded and gave her a kiss, "Okay, I'll be waiting outside."

"Thank you for listening to me," she sincerely said.

"I'm sorry I didn't before...I'm sort of an idiot..."

Minerva chuckled, "It's okay, I love a good idiot, especially if he's a Martian," he beamed, she got on her toes and made sure to give him a deep, meaningful kiss before he had to go, "I love you, Martian," she whispered.

"I love you, Clever Girl," he whispered back.

She smiled and walked for her shower wall, "Are you gonna stand there forever, or...?" she looked back with a faint smirk.

The Doctor shook his head, "S-sorry," he quickly turned and hurried out.

Minerva quietly laughed, "Serves you right for walking away from me earlier," she mumbled and headed to finish her shower.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Tada! I love, love, this episode so much that writing it is so much fun! And I know, I'm lacking on updates but I have an excuse! (or excuses). I've had a couple exams and one midterm, a surprise presentation to do, my mother having surgery and so I had to be like mom 2.0 for my siblings apart from handling my own schoolwork. *takes deep breath* It's been pretty hectic! I even had to defer from writing this future season 6 for this story, I'm like midway through it aaa! I'm rambling about my personal life, I'm gonna stop now .

Anyways...hope the chapter was to your liking! I'm kinda sad I had to stop writing Martha and Stacey in cos they were so much fun to have around. Still, it's not the last of them! But hey, now you know there's a wedding coming soon ;)

And I bet none of you can figure out how the question will be popped!

 _For Reviews:_

Ooh, triple hearts, thanks ^.^ Well you'll have to wait and see if your theory is correct in the season finale chapters ;) But good catch on the nickname!

I despise Sophia and Marisol too, don't worry! Yes, the moon princess never left her Doctor. Thanks! Hope you liked the chapter!

You know what happened next lol. And hopefully you liked it too ^.^

Thank you! I was hoping I could get some emotions stirring up, especially when the Doctor told Minerva basically everything about her. I nearly cried myself .

Hey, that's good! I would hate to think that people thought I pulled the Kaeya/Minerva thing out of the no where. There has to be some clues out there (at least in my opinion). And thanks!

Heey, welcome to the Fanfic profile club lol Thank you! I'm happy to know you've been liking the story so far! Lanterns are _so_ their thing. They're such hopeless romantics! Omfg I lost it at 'fish TARDIS' and the first thing that popped into my head was that he went out to search for his 'fish moon princess' xD. Aw, thanks! Sorry for my lack of updates and I'll definitely try to get back into my weekly routine!

So...next chapter we get River Song...I'm super-duper excited for her story and all I can say is...

...no...wait...

 _Spoilers!_ ;)


	17. A Moonie and a Song

Minerva sat on the chair by the console staring blankly ahead as her mind felt a bit...compressed. She'd been having these minor headaches lately and she supposed it was because her mind was trying to accommodate to the fact it now had to sort out through two different personas. It was becoming a little easy to tell that another personality, or a full person, was beginning to leak through her human body. There were times where she fully acted like Kaeya, according to the Doctor. He knew exactly what Kaeya did and spoke like. Apart from acting like a Moontsay, she was beginning to feel bits and parts of a Moontsay. Her temperature had started decreasing. She felt cold more often and needed her heaters again. The Doctor often had to wrap her in several blankets just to keep her at a decent temperature.

Minerva didn't know how to feel about that; to know that she, the human, was beginning to fade. Should she be happy that she was reclaiming her true identity? Or...should she be sad that everyone she came to know as a human, the family she had (as little as it was) was not related to her? Her mind and body were changing into a proper alien and she...she was afraid. She was terrified at what could lay in the future for her. Would Minerva Souza be gone and replaced with Kaeya, princess of the Monsoon? Would a new woman take her place at the Doctor's side? But it was odd because even if she didn't want to become an alien...she knew that that was her best (and only) chance at being able to live a longer life with the Doctor. Her human body would begin to age and wither away...but Kaeya, Kaeya wouldn't. She'd age similarly, if not the same, to the Doctor. But she still didn't feel right calling herself 'Kaeya'. The name was just too different, not her at the moment. It didn't help that she hadn't remember quite a lot of her alien life. She thought it would be easier once she started remembering the type of life she lived before coming to Earth.

The Doctor had explained to her it would be a slow process but would eventually speed up. She'd had talks with Zohar, and only Zohar, about what would essentially be happening to her. Minerva didn't feel right in seeing her 'grandfather' just yet. She didn't want to hurt the man by not recalling who he was and their family. The same thing went for the other citizens of the Monsoon that were living with Zohar in the planet of Nix Terra. She was aware of the sudden 'hope' she'd become for them since they learned of her survival. She just didn't want to let them down by appearing as a human and not knowing the first thing about their culture. Zohar was the only one Minerva wanted to see that was a Moontsay, the only one she felt comfortable around enough to admit what she did and didn't know about their planet. For the moment, Zohar had described how the body's temperature would begin to lower and the sudden brief moments the eyes would flash blue, signifying the Moontsay powers were trying to activate as well. Of course with that also came the moments Minerva would suddenly recall some of her memories and act like her first incarnation. The necklace didn't understand that the first and second incarnations were of the same person and was treating them like two separate people, hence the act of the brain trying to pick and choose personality traits of the alien Kaeya and the human Minerva. But Minerva was trying her best to control the flashes of her first incarnation, even though there wasn't much she could do. She did have to admit that she liked acting her 'true self' (now that she _knew_ it was _her_ true self) because she would get the faint reminder of who she was back on the Monsoon.

But she was terrified of what laid at the end. The visit to the 1920's didn't help her much. She'd talked to the Doctor about it, about the Vespiform...and how she was afraid of how different she could turn out to be. The Reverend had lived for 40 years as a complete human, then he discovered he was alien and turned into a...murderer. Minerva was terrified she could turn into something like that, because her people were fueled by emotions. The Doctor had assured her nothing bad would happen if she just took things easily, but of course Minerva was still pretty scared.

"Hello my Clever Girl," the Doctor wrapped his arms around her from behind. Minerva lightly gasped and flinched at the sudden contact and break of her thoughts. The Doctor chuckled quietly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright," she patted his hands that rested on her stomach.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked curiously, "You seemed so lost in thoughts...what were they?"

"Um, nothing important. It doesn't matter."

The Doctor knew that those famous words meant the complete opposite. But lately Minerva had been going through so much between her double-persona and her family that he didn't want to push her. Ever since they met Agatha Christie and the Vespiform, Minerva had become more reserved and thoughtful and it killed him that all he could offer was just to...talk.

"Are you sure?" he let Minerva go to move around and face her at front, "Because I'd listen to you, you know."

"I know," Minerva nodded, her eyes falling down.

"I'd be here for you."

"I know."

"I could even try to help..."

"I know."

He sighed and lifted her chin up, "Whenever you want to talk, I'll be right here."

Minerva nodded and hopped off her chair into his arms for a hug, needing to be near him. As Minerva, the human, she wanted to be with him all the time, until however long she had left, "I love you," she whispered, resting her head on his chest.

"I love you," he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair.

"This me will always love you," she murmured but he hadn't heard her.

"Hey, you want to go somewhere really cool?" he asked in an attempt to distract her.

"Where?"

"It's a library, but not just any library..."

"What's so cool about it?"

He stepped back a little and cupped her face, making her look up, "The Library is a whole _city._ "

"A city?" she raised an eyebrow, that small curiosity gleam starting up in her eyes.

He nodded, "It's a gigantic library, a city really...and it's filled with millions of books..."

"Millions of books?" she repeated, considering such a place.

"Mhm, what do you say? You want to go on a date with this daft old alien?" he gestured to himself.

"No..." she whispered.

The Doctor blinked in surprise, "Wh-what?"

"I want to go on a date with my silly Martian," she smiled and kissed him before he had a chance to react.

"That-that is cheating," he blinked as she pulled away, "You lied!"

"I didn't lie," she shrugged, biting back her chuckle, "I don't have a daft old alien for a boyfriend. I have a silly Martian."

He playfully rolled his eyes, "Yeah, fine. Library, then?"

"It's a date!"

"A date in the library?" Donna entered the room, distastefully looking at them, "Martha's right, attraction between geeks is weird!"

"Oi!" they shot her a sharp look.

"C'mon, guys. You're having a date in the _library_! No one does that!"

"That's because they don't have a library like the one I know at their disposal," the Doctor smirked and took Minerva's hand, turning them for the console.

"A library is a library. Can't you bring her somewhere better than that?" Donna moved up to the console as well, already clinging on despite her argument to alter the destination.

"I think it's cool," Minerva cut in.

"Yeah, plus I got another reason that'll add some adrenaline to the date," the Doctor declared.

"Like what?" she asked, curiously.

" _I_ don't even know!" he shrugged, "Let's find out!" he pulled down the lever on the console and off they went.

Once the TARDIS had stopped, they all stepped away from the console and fixed them selves up. Minerva suddenly shivered as she felt an unexpected (non-existent) breeze.

"Are you cold?" the Doctor asked, looking at Donna and nodding for her to go and get a sweater for Minerva.

"Fine," Minerva tried to assure.

"No it's not, come here," he quickly took her into his arms and rubbed her back.

"You don't have to overreact, Martian. It's just a little cold," Minerva said. But truthfully, his body was radiating the needed heat she'd suddenly lost.

"Moontsays are unbearably cold, Minerva. I know what that would be like for a human: unbearable. You don't have to lie."

"Here we go!" Donna came running out of the corridors waving a baby blue, thick cardigan, "Here Minerva."

"Thanks Donna," Minerva pulled away from the Doctor and took the cardigan, "It's fine now," she looked at both as they shared a glance and sighed, "So that library?" she gestured to the door, reminding them they had gone to a new location.

"Our date," the Doctor took her hand and walked for the door, a bit more calm now that she had something to keep her warm. He stopped by the rails and picked up his own coat and put it on, "It's the 51st century. By now you've got holovids, direct to brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books. Deep breath," he stepped outside in a solitary reception room.

"You want us to smell books?" Minerva half-smiled, "They're just books, dear."

He just rolled his eyes and continued to lead them down the room and to a staircase that let them see the view ahead. It was a large city with book shelves, "It's The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big "the."

"It really is like a city," Minerva breathed.

"Blimey, that's big," Donna blinked.

"It's a world. Literally a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer, biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed. We're near the equator, so..." the Doctor licked his finger and lifted it up to feel the wind, "This must be Biographies! I love biographies!"

"Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end," Donna remarked.

"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size."

Minerva tensed at the word. She couldn't help associate 'death' with her current situation and then the Vespiform...and...it was all really jumbled up. It made her afraid...

Donna went to pick up a book nearby when the Doctor suddenly snatched it from her, "Oi! Spoilers!"

"What?" the ginger frowned.

"These books are from your future. You don't wanna read ahead, spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."

"Doctor, _you're_ one big spoiler," Minerva said, deciding to stop thinking so much for the moment. This was a date and she should be happy with her boyfriend.

"Yeah," Donna agreed, "Travelling with you is just one huge spoiler."

Defeated, the Doctor looked around to avoid their sharp looks, "I... try to keep you away from major plot developments. Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because you know what? This is the biggest Library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."

"But it's a library, Martian," Minerva reminded as he led them towards an information terminal where he used the sonic on it.

"The planet. The whole planet."

"Maybe it's a Sunday," Donna tried.

"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."

"Well... Maybe everyone's really, really quiet," Minerva shrugged, "Maybe there's a really bad librarian that scares them all."

"Yeah but they'd still show up on the system," he said, "Now, that's interesting."

"What?" Donna and Minerva asked, both moving to be on either side of him.

"Scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids - you know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada, see? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life..." he pushed some keys and suddenly the numbers began rising and rising on the screen until it literally broke down due to the maximum record being reached, "A million million. Gives up after that. A million million."

"But there's no one around," Minerva looked around just in case, "...nothing here."

"And not a sound. A million million life forms, and silence in the Library."

"But there's no-one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean, it can't be the books, can it? I mean, books can't be alive?" Donna nearly laughed and yet...

...all three shared a look of sudden doubt.

Donna reached towards a book slowly when a voice called 'welcome' and made them all jump.

"That came from there," Donna pointed back.

"Yeah!" the Doctor agreed and they ran for the voice's direction.

They returned to the reception room and saw a node across. It was a modern statue with a living face plastered on its head, "I am Courtesy Node 710/aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers regardless of species or hygiene taboo."

"That face, it looks real," Minerva frowned.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," the Doctor waved her off.

"But a statue with a real face, though! It's a hologram or something, isn't it?" Donna asked, also a bit creeped out by the face.

"No, but really, it's... fine."

"Additional. There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. _"Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself, we can't... Oh, they're here. Arg. Slarg. Snick._ " Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm units for the comfort of other readers."

"So that's why we're here..." the Doctor mumbled, "Any other messages, same date stamp?" he called to the Node.

"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of 5, 0, 11..."

"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine, just play it."

"Message follows. "Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember... if you want to live, count the shadows." Message ends."

The Doctor reached for Minerva's hand, frowning when he felt how cold it had turned, "Minerva, Donna..."

"Yeah?"

"Stay out of the shadows."

"Why, what's in the shadows?" Donna immediately looked at the shadows being cast around but the Doctor began walking, pulling Minerva with him.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor, when you said 'that's why we're here'...what did you mean by that?" Minerva was asking him as they walked through a door and arrived an aisle between bookshelves.

"Confession time, this isn't just a date..." he began.

"Hold on, and you said something about adrenaline being added," Donna recalled.

"Yes, I did," he nodded, "I got a message on the psychic paper."

"What? By who?" Minerva asked.

The Doctor stopped walking and took out his psychic paper from his coat's pocket. He showed both women the message written on it, ""The Library. Come as soon as you can, Moonie, x""

"What do you think? Cry for help?" he looked at them.

"What's that last word?" Donna pointed.

"That's not a proper word," Minerva shook her head, "Who sent you this, Martian?"

"I don't know," the Doctor shrugged, "That's all there."

"This is a cry for help with a very specific person in mind," Donna looked up at the Doctor, "Do people actually call you 'Moonie'?"

"No..."

"Then how do you know the cry for help was for you?"

"Because it's on _my_ psychic paper," the Doctor shrugged and put the paper away, "Don't think someone else has this right now. "But whoever it's from needed help. Do you really want us to ignore it?"

"Of course not," Minerva shook her head, "A cry for help is a cry for help."

Suddenly, the lights across the hallway started going out, the darkness reaching them quick.

"What's happening?" Donna breathed.

"Run!" the Doctor ordered and they did. They reached a door where the Doctor was failing miserably at opening it, "Come on!"

"What, is it locked?" Donna frowned.

"Jammed! The wood's warped!"

"Sonic it, use the thingy!"

"He can't, it's wood!" Minerva sighed.

"What, it doesn't do wood?!"

"Hang on, hang on, if I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings, I can shatterline the interface..."

"Martian, this is my territory," Minerva stepped up and kicked the door open. Those self-defense classes really did the trick!

They burst into the room and shut the door using a book to bolt it. The Doctor looked back and saw a silver sphere looking at them, "Oh! Hello! Sorry to burst on you like this. OK if we stop here for a bit?" suddenly, the sphere fell to the floor.

"What is it?" Minerva asked.

"Security camera. Switched itself off," he picked it up and examined it, using the sonic on it.

"Nice door skills, Minerva," Donna remarked, highly impressed.

"Thanks, my self-defense teacher really helped me. And then my partner was amazing."

"Better not be James Mulvoy," the Doctor warned.

"Don't worry, it was the same person who sent you the little message with a kiss," Minerva teased and received a mock-glare back.

"So what was that back in the hallway?" Donna asked, amused by the quirks of the pair, "I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"

"Possibly," the Doctor shrugged.

"Are we safe here?"

"Course we're safe. There's a little shop," he nodded towards the sign on the wall that read 'shop', "Gotcha!"

The cover of the security camera's lens opened up and the words ' _No, stop it, no, no!_ ' ran through the screen.

"Ooh, I'm sorry. I really am, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," the Doctor quickly placed the sphere down, "It's alive."

"I thought you said it was a security camera," Minerva stepped over.

"It is. It's an alive one."

More words started running through the screen: " _Others are coming. The Library is breached. Others are coming_."

"Others? What's it mean, "others"?" Donna asked. The Doctor was just as confused as she and Minerva were so Donna took it upon herself and went for a Node, "Excuse me, what does it mean, "others"?"

"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor called.

"So why's it got a face?" Minerva curiously asked. It really did look awfully real and it just creeped her out.

" _This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death_ ," the node replied.

"It's a real face?!" she and Donna cried.

 _"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."_

"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue's got a real dead person's face on it..." Donna stumbled back.

"It's the 51st century, that's... basically like donating a park bench," the Doctor shrugged.

"It's donating a face!" Minerva shivered, and not from coldness.

Donna shook her head and walked backwards, "No, wait, no!" the Doctor quickly reached for her before she stepped on a dark shadow.

"Oi! Hands!" Donna slapped his hands away, "I don't want Minerva to get the same idea about me like her cousin!"

Minerva scoffed, making both look over to her, "Sorry it's just out of everyone the person with the least romantic interest in the Martian is you, Donna."

Donna smiled proudly at that while the Doctor mock glared at them both.

"Anyways, I'm a bit curious," Minerva walked over, being careful to step around the shadow, "Because there's a shadow and yet...there's nothing that can actually _cast_ it..."

"Oh! I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick! Head's too full of stuff, I need a bigger head!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I don't need an older alien for a boyfriend," Minerva gave him a sharp look, "903 is my limit."

"Oh, really?" the Doctor stopped and turned to her, a smirk plastered on his face, "You're Kaeya, meaning you're no where _near_ '18 years old'. Shall I tell Donna your actual age?" Minerva's eyes widened, "It's triple digits..."

"How old are you?" Donna curiously asked Minerva, never having thought about the actual age of her Clever sister.

Minerva looked horrified as she realized how old she'd be and hurried to change the subject, "The power must be going," she looked at the corridor that was very lamp with only a blinking light.

"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun," the Doctor said, still smirking. He now knew how to quiet Minerva down whenever she started teasing him.

"Then why is it dark?" Donna asked.

"It's not dark," the Doctor turned around and noticed the shadow she'd nearly stepped on was gone, "That shadow...we need to get back to the TARDIS," he declared and took Minerva's hand, "Sorry Minerva, looks like this date has just a bit too much adrenaline for us."

"Why do we need to leave?" she asked.

"Because that shadow hasn't gone. It's _moved_."

" _Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached..._ " the node repeated.

A door burst open and six people dressed in spacesuits entered the room. The Doctor pulled Minerva and Donna behind him as the leader walked straight for them. The leader switched her visor to transparent to reveal a woman inside, smiling brightly as she tried peering beside the Doctor on the side Minerva was, "Moonie!"

"Get out!" the Doctor shouted, frowning deeply.

"What did you just say?" Minerva stepped around the Doctor, focus entirely on the woman. _She_ was 'Moonie'? What was a 'Moonie'!?

"Doctor," Donna called.

"All of you, turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away! Tell your grandchildren you came to the Library and lived, they won't believe you!" the Doctor kept shouting but no one listened to him.

"Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers," the leader woman instructed the rest. She took off to reveal herself to be a brunette with massive curls in a bun and sporting icy blue eyes.

"How do you know they're not androids?" one of the crew members asked.

"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish."

"Who is this? You said we were the only expedition, I paid for exclusives," an older man snapped.

"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others," the leader smirked.

"Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts," the older man ordered.

"You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?" the leader had turned back to the trio.

"Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly, just lea..." the Doctor had just realized something, "Hang on. Did you say expedition?"

"My expedition, I funded it," the older man said.

"Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists..." the Doctor frowned.

"Got a problem with archaeologists?" the leader raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists."

"Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist," she held her hand for him, playfully rolling her eyes at him.

"River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now... you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code-wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again... not one living thing, not here, not ever," one of the crew members walked towards the shadow and so the Doctor shouted again, startling her, "Stop right there! What's your name?"

"Anita."

"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared," he looked at everyone but they all seemed pretty blank, except for River who was just smiling, "No, bit more scared than that. OK, do for now. You, who are you?" he turned for one of the younger men."

"Uh, Dave."

"OK, Dave..."

"Oh, well Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we..." the Doctor took 'other' Dave to the door from which they came in, "Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?"

"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."

"How much darker?"

"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."

"Seal up this door. We'll find another way out," the Doctor returned to the group, noticing how shifty Minerva was for some reason.

"We're not looking for a way out," the older man snapped and turned to the youngest woman of the crew, "Miss Evangelista?"

Miss Evangelista stepped over to the trio with papers in her hands, "I'm Mr. Lux's personal... everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the Library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."

"You seem nice..." Minerva half-smiled and took the papers from her, "...but I don't like your boss," she tore all the papers up, "You'll have to forgive me for my improper manners but I'm not myself at the moment."

The Doctor frowned at that...that...wasn't Minerva. And if he recalled, Kaeya could be as sweet as Minerva was but she actually had a very snappy attitude at rare moments, but she had to be for the people she used to meet as a 'princess' were quite the snobs at times.

"My family built this Library. I have rights," Mr. Lux began but Minerva wouldn't let him finish.

"You have a mouth that won't stop," she snapped, "Quiet."

"Ouch, what's wrong with you Moonie?" River asked her, slightly concerned but looked far more amused than anything.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Minerva turned for River, "That's not a real word! Sounds like something a child makes up."

"...cause...I did," River mumbled, confused by the snappish attitude she was receiving.

Minerva hadn't heard and looked at the Doctor, "I'm confused," she shrugged.

"So am I," the Doctor agreed with a nod.

River shook off the odd behavior and glanced at the Doctor, "You think there's danger here?"

"Something came to this Library and killed everything in it, killed a whole world. Danger? Could be," he nodded, cautiously stepping up to Minerva and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her back.

"That was 100 years ago. The Library's been silent for 100 years. Whatever came here is long dead," River eyed the action and couldn't help but frown.

"Bet your life?"

"Always," River smiled.

"What are you doing?" Lux was speaking to other Dave who was shutting the doors as the Doctor had asked.

"He said seal the door," other Dave replied.

"Torch," the Doctor held his hand to Mr. Lux.

"But-"

"I said give," he repeated and so he received.

"You're taking orders from him?" Mr. Lux frowned at other Dave.

"Spooky, isn't it?" the Doctor smirked as he walked to the other side of the room and looked around with the torch to light up the dark corners.

"I don't take orders from you, I take them from my Moonie," River frowned, further surprising Minerva.

The Doctor paused and looked at the woman, confused as much as Minerva was, "Anyways...almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. Cos it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."

"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked.

"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark," he returned to the group, "Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"

"What for?" River asked.

"Form a circle, safe area, big as you can, lights pointing out."

"Oi! Do as he says," River ordered the rest.

"You're not listening to this man?!" Lux shook his head.

"When the situation is dire, I happen to," River shrugged, "Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mr. Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the Library database, see what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago. Pretty Boy, Moonie, you're with me. Step into my office."

Slowly, Minerva started walking for River, despite the concerned looks she received from Donna about it.

"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?" Lux asked River once she had stopped at a desk with a node beside.

"I don't fancy you," River smirked. The man frowned and walked away, removing his helmet," There you are," she said once Minerva had joined her, "Where's the idiot?"

"Excuse me?" Minerva blinked, "You just called him 'pretty boy'..."

"Yes, as manners go, I do that then I call him by his true self...idiot," River smiled and took some things out of her bag.

"Why do you call me 'Moonie'?" Minerva stepped closer, curiously wondering it.

"I always call you that," River shrugged.

"But why? And where'd the name come from?"

River stopped her actions and turned to Minerva, now _she_ was confused. Of course Minerva knew why she called her that, why wouldn't she? But then she saw the necklace Minerva wore...and gasped deeply.

"What? What is it?" Minerva followed her gaze to her necklace fastened on her neck, "This?" she touched the necklace.

The Doctor had noticed the two women conversing and with fear for Minerva's safety, he hurried over, "What's going on?"

"The necklace..." River pointed at it, Minerva putting a hand over the suns, "...this is...this is wrong," her mind had begun putting the pieces together and so she quickly pulled out her TARDIS-blue journal.

"What is that?" the Doctor frowned.

"Shush," River raised a finger to them while she skimmed the pages of her book.

"You sent the message, didn't you?" Minerva tilted her head as she studied the mysterious woman, "But you sent the message for... _me_ ," she looked up at the Doctor, "How could she do that?"

"Moonie," River swallowed hard and lowered her book, "Do you know who I am?"

"Sorry, afraid not," Minerva shook her head.

River took Minerva's right wrist and studied for the mark she always had, "No, you don't..." she finally realized, "...you don't know who I am," she looked up with glossy eyes.

Because if Minerva didn't have that mark on her wrist and the necklace still existed...she was still human and was changing, currently changing. There was no such thing as a River Song in her life, nor the Doctor's. She was a stranger, a stranger and nothing more.

Minerva felt something stir inside her at the sight of the woman's nearly teared up eyes, "Sorry..." was all she could think to say.

An alarm blared which made all three turn to the others in immediate concern, "Sorry, that was me," other Dave apologized, "Trying to get through into the security protocols, I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"

"That sounds like a...phone," Minerva frowned.

"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just that noise," proper Dave said.

"But that's a phone!" Donna exclaimed.

"Let me try something," the Doctor moved over to the terminal beside then, pulling Minerva with him.

The terminal screen from which the Doctor was working on showed a symbol with 'Access Denied' written over it.

"OK, doesn't like that, let's try something else," the Doctor tried once again, "OK, here it comes," a little girl appeared on the screen, garnering the immediate attention of everyone, "Hello?" the Doctor, confused, greeted.

"Hello," the little girl seemed just as confused, "Are you in my television?"

"Well, no, I'm, I'm... sort of in space. I, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple-grid security processor."

"Would you like to speak to my dad?"

"Dad or your mum, that'd be lovely."

The girl blinked when she realized who the man was, "I know you! You were in my Library!"

"Your Library?"

"The Library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"

"Ah, I... I just rerouted the interface..." but the connection broke and the screen went dark again.

"What happened?" Minerva asked the Doctor as he tried to work on the terminal again, "Who was that?"

"I need another terminal. Keep working on those lights, we need those lights!" the Doctor shouted to the rest.

"You heard him, people, let there be light," River said.

While working, the Doctor noticed the blue, TARDIS-shaped diary on the desk. Minerva caught his gaze and sighed, agreeing it was all too strange and coincidental. She reached for it but River snatched it away, "Hey," she frowned.

"Sorry, Moonie, you're not allowed to see inside the book, it's against the rules."

"What rules?"

"Your rules," River shrugged, saying it like it was obvious.

"Who are you?" Minerva asked, "You clearly know us and yet...we don't know you."

"Timelines, they're tricky for you."

"Yeah, well, they seem to be hurting you and it would be a lot easier if I knew what it was," Minerva crossed her arms, "I don't like it when people are hurt."

"I know," River had to smile. Even if it was a new Moonie, or old depending how you looked at it, she still had the basic quirks of her personality.

"But you know what this is," Minerva lifted her necklace, "No one except my friends and family know about this. So...where do you fall?"

"That's your first incarnation's prized necklace," River stepped back, "And that's all I'm saying on that matter."

Suddenly, the books started flying off the shelves like crazy. The Doctor ducked and pulled Minerva down, "What's that? I didn't do that, did you do that?" he called to the others.

"Not me," proper Dave replied.

The Doctor turned back to the terminal that still read 'access denied' on the screen only now it bore a 'CAL' sign at the top, "What's CAL?"

"An acronym, perhaps?" Minerva suggested, now standing as the books had stopped.

"But what does it mean?" the Doctor looked at her.

She shrugged, "Don't know. Maybe you can try searching it up on the terminal."

"If I can get it to work..." he mumbled.

She smiled and kissed his temple, "I know you can do it."

"Well with my Clever Girl beside me, how could I fail her?" he smiled back to her.

"What's causing that? Is it the little girl?" River looked around and ducked as more books started flying out again.

"But who is the little girl?" the Doctor focused on that instead, "What's she got to do with this place?".

"How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?" Minerva had turned to River.

"Ask Mr Lux."

"CAL, what is it?" the Doctor turned around.

"Sorry. You didn't sign your personal experience contracts," Lux gave them a glare for their error.

"Mr Lux, right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a _patent_?"

"I'm protecting my family's pride."

"Well, funny thing, Mr Lux, I don't want to see everyone in this room, including my girlfriend and her ginger sister _dead_ because some _idiot_ thinks his pride is more important."

"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River challenged then had to laugh to herself, "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you!"

"Okay, why don't we pause for a moment?" Minerva suggested, "If we want to know how to fix this then it's best to start with what originally happened to his place."

The Doctor agreed and continued for her, "What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"

"There was a message from the Library. Just one. "The lights are going out'," River answered first, "Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."

"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Mr. Lux added.

"Um... excuse me..." Miss Evangelista called.

"Not just now," Mr. Lux snapped.

"There was one other thing in the last message..." River began.

"That's confidential," Mr. Lux scolded.

"I trust this woman and man with my life, with everything," River snapped.

Minerva raised her eyebrows in surprise, feeling the faith this River person had on her. Usually people trusted the Doctor, and blindly, but this woman was placing _her_ first. Why would someone do that?

"You've only just met them!" Mr. Lux exclaimed.

"No, they've only just met me," River nearly shouted, preferring never to say those words again, "So button it up!"

"Um. This might be important actually..." Miss Evangelista called again.

"In a moment!" Mr. Lux shooed her.

"This is a data extract that came with the message," River moved over to the Doctor and showed him the message on her PDA.

"4022 saved. No survivors," he read aloud.

"Save?" Minerva mumbled to herself, no one really ever said that anymore. But her mind was much too jumbled up with everything, perhaps she was just thinking on it too much.

"4022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed," River was saying to the Doctor.

"But how can 4022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna asked.

"That's what we're here to find out," River shrugged.

"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies," Mr. Lux sighed.

A scream startled everyone and made them run towards the direction in which it came from. They stopped inside a lecture room where a skeleton in a spacesuit laid against a pillar.

"Everybody, careful! Stay in the light," the Doctor ordered.

"You keep saying that. I don't see the point!" proper Dave exclaimed.

"Who screamed? Who's missing?" Minerva looked around, knowing they were one short.

"Miss Evangelista," proper Dave answered.

"Who screamed?"

"Where is she?"

River spoke into her communicator, "Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." but she stopped when her voice echoed through the direction of the skeleton, "Please state your current..." she paused again and only whispered her last word, "...position." she pulled a piece out of the spacesuit's collar from behind the skeleton's back. The green lights of the communicator were still on, "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."

"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita blinked in horror.

"It took a lot less than a few seconds," the Doctor corrected with a sigh.

"What did?"

" _Hello?_ " Miss Evangelista's voice came through the skeleton's communicator.

"Um, I'm sorry everyone, um, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting," River looked back to the others.

"She's what?" Minerva asked.

 _"Hello, excuse me? I - I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me?"_

"That's... That's her, that's Miss Evangelista!" Donna exclaimed.

"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just... you know?" proper Dave swayed his head as he tried to gesture what he meant to say.

"This is her last moment... no, we can't," River shot him a glare, "A little respect, thank you."

 _Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?_

"But that's Miss Evangelista..." Donna was still not over that, she was dead!

"It's a data ghost, she'll be gone in a moment," River spoke into her communicator, "Miss Evangelista, you're fine, just relax. We'll be with you presently."

"What's a data ghost?" Minerva asked the Doctor quietly.

"There's a neural relay in the communicator, lets you send thought mails. That's it there, those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an after image."

"She's in there!" Donna shook her head."

 _I can't see, I can't... Where am I?_

"She's just brain waves now. The pattern won't hold for long," proper Dave said.

"She's conscious! She's thinking," Donna frowned.

 _"I can't see, I can't... I don't know what I'm thinking._

"She's a footprint on the beach. And the tide's coming in..." the Doctor said.

 _"Where's that woman? The nice woman... is she there?"_

"What woman?" Mr. Lux asked.

"She means... I think, she means me," Donna put a hand on her chest, not too sure how to feel about that, that a dead person was still clinging to her.

 _"Is she there? The nice woman?"_

"Yeah, she's here, hang on," River turned to Donna and walked for her, "Go ahead. She can hear you."

 _Hello? Are you there?_

Donna shook her head in horror, "N-n-n-no..."

"C'mon Donna, help her," Minerva whispered, "She needs you."

"She's dead!"

"What I would give to talk to my grandfather," Minerva said, becoming pensive and swallowing hard, "...what I would give to talk to my sister."

 _Hello? Is that the nice woman?_

Donna sighed and realized Minerva was right. The woman, while dead, still needed her and who was she to deny someone help and especially during their last moments, "Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm, I'm... I'm here. You OK?"

 _What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._

"Course I won't. Course I won't tell them," Donna shuddered a breath, she couldn't believe she was having a conversation with a dead person.

 _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh..._

"I won't tell them. I said I won't."

 _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._

"I'm not going to tell them."

The lights of the communicator on the skeleton were beginning to blink.

 _Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh._

"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading..." River whispered.

 _I can't think, I...don't know, I... I... I... Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream._

"Does anybody mind if I...?" River stepped over to the skeleton and turned off the relay.

"That was... that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen," Donna breathed, in tears. Minerva gave her a hug to comfort her.

"No. It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her... I'd like a word with that," River muttered.

"I'll introduce you," the Doctor turned and rushed back for the room they'd came from. The others followed him back, "I'm gonna need a packed lunch."

"Oh, me too," Minerva agreed, although she meant for eating while the Doctor had meant for strategies.

"That's what happens when you skip breakfast," the Doctor tapped her nose, making her smile.

"I love your milkshakes but I wasn't hungry," Minerva shrugged.

"Hang on, Moonie, I've got you," River assured as she went to her bag on the floor, crouching down and rummaging through her things.

Confused, the pair moved over to her, eyeing the book she'd taken out again, "What's in that book, exactly?" the Doctor questioned.

"Spoilers."

"Who are you?" Minerva asked next, feeling like it truly mattered for River.

"Professor River Song, University of..."

"No, to _us_ ," Minerva stopped her, pointing at River warningly, "Don't stray from the answer."

"Spoilers," River held up a boxes to them, "Pasta with chicken," she looked at the Doctor, "And some minty-fresh brownies for you," she said to Minerva, handing them both the separate boxes.

"These are my favorite," Minerva remarked with a smile as she opened the box, "Why'd you carry these?"

"Because they're my favorite too," River sadly smiled, looking up at Minerva for a moment while the brunette began munching on the brownies.

~ 0 ~

Donna was leaned against a table as she watched the others work, not really finding much to do in order to help. She looked around and felt a bit odd not to have that blue light around. Over the couple weeks that had passed from the visit they made to Agatha Christie in the 1920's, Donna had warmed up to the light instead of questioning for its actions. She knew it was silly to think of the light as a friend but the light was technically a part of Minerva that was awaiting to return to its physical body...so, in a way, Donna was making friends with a different side of Minerva. It had taken to following Donna around whenever she was alone, like a protector of some sort. But for some reason, the light was no where to be seen right now. It often did that at times, Donna could tell there was just moments where it couldn't or shouldn't be around.

Donna ended her thoughts at a book falling from the table she was at and looked around, finding River a couple feet away from her, skimming through her book with a sad expression. She could tell River was upset by the pair's reaction to her and felt bad, "Oi, you alright...?" she slowly moved over to the brunette.

River snapped shut her book and looked at Donna, "Of course."

"Yeah, sorry, you're not a good liar," Donna chuckled and glanced at Minerva and the Doctor, the two close while they worked, "You know them, don't you? Minerva a bit better by the looks of it."

"Hm, my Moonie," River smiled softly, "We go way back, all of us... just not this far back."

"I'm sorry, what?" Donna raised an eyebrow, confused of the statement.

"I sent her a message, through the Doctor's psychic paper, just like I always do...but it went wrong," River had continued, her smile fading away, "Moonie came, just like always...but a version that hasn't met me came instead."

"I'm sorry," Donna sighed, there were no words that could comfort River in this tough situation, well, perhaps maybe this, "But I'm sure after this you can just hop back to the future, or your present, and see a version you do know."

"Yeah," River nodded, already beginning to smile at the thought of seeing her old Moonie again, the one that knew her perfectly.

"OK, we've got a live one!" the Doctor called everyone to his attention, "That's not darkness down those tunnels, this is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man-eating swarm," he threw a piece of chicken from the lunch box into the shadows. By the time it reached the ground it was completely down to the bone, "The piranhas of the air, the Vashta Nerada. Literally "the shadows that melt the flesh". Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."

"What d'you mean, most planets? Not Earth?" Donna asked.

"Mmmm, Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."

"If they were on Earth, we'd know," Minerva said.

"Nah, normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."

"Every shadow?" River asked.

"No. But _any_ shadow."

"So what do we do?"

"Daleks - aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans - back of the neck. Vashta Nerada... Run! Just run."

"Run where?"

"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere."

"Don't look at me, I haven't memorized the schematics!" Mr. Lux shook his head.

"What about the little shop?" Minerva spoke up, "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."

"You're right! Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop! And that's why I love you my Clever Girl," he winked at her, beaming when he saw the faint blush on her face.

"Okay, let's move it!" proper Dave exclaimed.

"Actually, Proper Dave, could you stay where you are for a moment?" the Doctor's excitement suddenly faded away.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows..." the Doctor said, everyone stared in horror at proper Dave, "It's how they hunt, they latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."

"What do I do?" proper Dave asked, staying completely still.

"You stay absolutely still. Like there's a wasp in the room, like there's a million wasps."

"We're not leaving you, Dave," River assured.

"Course we're not leaving. Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me," the Doctor instructed.

"On the floor, by my bag."

Anita walked over to grab the helmet and handed it to the Doctor, "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got," he put the helmet on proper Dave.

Donna looked at Minerva and then herself, "But, Doctor, we haven't got any helmets."

"Yeah, but we're safe anyway."

"How are we safe?"

"We're not, that was a clever lie to shut you up. Professor, anything I can do with the suit?"

"So much for not being rude," Minerva mumbled.

"What good are the damn suits? Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit, there was nothing left," Mr. Lux bitterly said.

"We can increase the mesh-density, dial it up 400%. Make it a tougher meal," River suggested.

"Okay," the Doctor sonicked the suit of proper Dave, "800%! Pass it on" he moved to show the screwdriver to River...when she lifted up a similar one.

"Gotcha!" River exclaimed.

"What's that?" the Doctor frowned.

"It's a screwdriver."

"Clearly," Minerva blinked, stunned at the similar models, "And it's sonic too?"

River nodded, "Yeah, I know. Snap!" she moved around and sealed all of the crew member's suits with her sonic.

"Who _is_ she?" Minerva felt tired of asking the same question over and over and never receiving a proper answer.

"With me," the Doctor pulled her by the hand and took Donna into the little shop.

Minerva tensed as she saw the teleport in the center of the shop. She knew exactly what the Doctor was going to try and do and she would not stand for it. She knew he would be pulling out the 'she's human and is more fragile' and blah, blah, blah. But the tables were turning now, she was not just a human, at least not anymore. She was beginning to change into something more powerful that could help him. So, she wouldn't be going anywhere.

"What are you doing?" Donna was being pushed by the Doctor to the teleport.

"No talking, just moving! Try it!" the Doctor exclaimed, turning back for Minerva.

"Don't you dare," she stepped back.

"But-"

"I'll kick you," she flat-out warned, "Plus, do remember that you'd have to deal with twice the anger seeing as that trait hasn't been figured out yet. Human and alien anger, you up for that?"

He shook his head fairly fast, "No, ma'am!" and he turned for Donna again, making sure the ginger remained where she was, "Right, stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."

"What's going on?" Donna looked at Minerva for some answers.

"You don't have a suit, you're not safe," the Doctor hurried for the control panel of the teleport.

"You don't have a suit, so you're in just as much danger as I am and I'm not leaving your or Minerva..."

"Donna! Let me explain..." he pushed the lever and teleported Donna away, "Oh, that's how you do it!"

"She is going to be really angry with you after this," Minerva warned.

"I'm pretty upset right now myself because you're not with her," he walked back to her.

"I'm not going anywhere if you stay here. Together," she held her hand for him.

"Moonie!" River called from the other room.

The pair dashed back into the room to see the attention was on proper Dave again. The Doctor looked down and realized the man only had one shadow now, "Where did it go!?"

"It's just gone. I... I looked round, one shadow. See," proper Dave said, everyone looking down at his one shadow on the floor.

"Does that mean we can leave?" River asked, "I don't want to hang around here," she would much rather return home and perhaps visit _her_ Moonie and the Doctor.

"I don't know why we're still here. We can leave him, can't we?" Mr. Lux apologetically looked at proper Dave, "I mean, no offence..."

"Can you shut up?" Minerva asked, heavily annoyed with the man even as human.

"Did you feel anything? Like an energy transfer? Anything at all?" the Doctor asked proper Dave, confused.

"No, no, but, look, it's, it's gone," proper Dave turned around slowly to show he was clean.

"Stop there, stop, stop, stop there, stop moving! They're never just gone. And they never give up," the Doctor knelt down and started using the sonic on the shadows, "Well, this one's benign."

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" proper Dave suddenly asked.

"No-one, they're fine," the Doctor answered absently.

"No, seriously, turn them back on!"

"The lights are on," Minerva remarked, getting a bad feeling seeing Dave had his back to them.

"I can't see a ruddy thing!"

"How-how about you turn around..." Minerva swallowed.

He turned around and allowed everyone to see the darkness that was now inside his helmet, "What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone, are we safe here?"

"Dave, I want you stay still, absolutely still," the Doctor ordered fast, the man standing still once again, "Dave, Dave? Dave, can you hear me, are you all right? Talk to me, Dave."

"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm... I'm fine."

"I want you to stay still, absolutely still."

"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm, I'm fine. I can't... Why can't I? I... I can't... Why can't I? I... I can't... Why can't I? I.." the lights on proper Dave's communicator were blinking.

"He's gone. He's ghosting," River breathed.

"Then why is he still standing?" Mr. Lux asked, terrified.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?" 'proper Dave' asked.

"Doctor, don't!" Minerva exclaimed, seeing him move closer to Dave.

"Dave, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked, making sure to keep a decent distance between him and Dave for Minerva's sake.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" proper Dave grabbed the Doctor and started choking him. His helmet lit and a skeleton emerged against the visor, "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"No!" Minerva kicked proper Dave in the stomach with all her might and managed to push him off, "Doctor!" she turned to him and hugged him.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay! But let's all step back," he pulled her back in the midst of their hug, motioning for everyone to do the same.

Proper Dave backed the group into a corner as he walked towards them in a rather odd manner.

"Doesn't move very fast does it?" River remarked at the sight.

"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning," the Doctor said.

Several shadows emerged from proper Dave's feet that moved towards the group.

"What do we do? Where do we go?" Mr. Lux frantically looked around.

"See that wall behind you? Duck!" River turned and used a sonic blaster which made a hole in the wall.

"Squareness gun!" the Doctor blinked, surprised yet grateful.

"Everybody out. Go, go, go! Move it, move, move! Move it, move, move!" River ordered.

Everyone quickly went through the hole and arrived in a darkish aisle between bookshelves.

"You said not every shadow," River remarked when the Doctor had stopped.

"But _any_ shadow," Minerva reminded her.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" proper Dave reached the aisle.

"Run!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor fiddled with a lamp using his sonic. The group had arrived at another room and quickly resolved to get light. Minerva and River stood near him while the rest gathered not too far from them, panting from their run.

"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down," the Doctor rambled as he worked, frustrated he couldn't get the lamp to work.

"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" River asked, looking between him and Minerva. She pointed her screwdriver at the lamp and made the light grow stronger.

"River, why does your screwdriver look exactly like this?" Minerva had to ask, she really couldn't stop herself.

"He gave it to me," she shrugged.

"You did?" Minerva looked at the Doctor.

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone," the Doctor declared, very sure of that. The only person he would trust with something that important would be Minerva obviously.

"I'm not anyone," River assured.

"Who are you?" Minerva pleaded for the answer to be given.

"What's the plan?" River, instead, said.

"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours, emergency program one will activate," the Doctor looked at Minerva, both uneasy of the mysterious woman.

"Take her home, yeah," River nodded and turned to the rest of the group, "We need to get a shift on."

The Doctor was looking at his sonic with concern when Minerva turned around, sparking her curiosity, "What's wrong?"

"She's not there. I should've received a signal, the console signals me if there's a teleport breach."

"Donna's not in the TARDIS?" she quickly moved right beside him to look at the sonic, "Well, where is she?"

"Maybe the co-ordinates have slipped," River offered, having overheard, "The equipment here's ancient."

The Doctor ran to a Node standing nearby, "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"

The Node turned its head to show off _Donna's_ face on its head, " _Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved._ "

Minerva's eyes widened, "Donna!" she cried, terrified.

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"How can it be Donna? How's that possible?" River quickly moved to the Doctor.

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Oh, Donna," the Doctor could only stare at his ginger friend's face.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" proper Dave's emerged from the aisle, but the Doctor and Minerva were too concerned for Donna.

"Doctor!" River called.

 _"Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library."_

"Doctor, Minerva, we've got to go, now!" River grabbed the Doctor's arm and Minerva's, pulling them with the rest of the group, "C'mon!"

 _"Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

 _"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."_

The group were cornered with proper Dave coming from one end of the aisle and on the other side were the shadows moving closer to the,.

"What are we gonna do?" River frantically asked the Doctor, but no answer was given. She knew she would have to take charge for the moment...

~ 0 ~

River used the squareness gun to create another hole in the wall, "This way, quickly, move!"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" proper Dave still followed after them.

River used the gun and made a way into another room, "OK, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in! Right in the center, in the middle of the light, quickly! Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor..."

"I'm doing it," he said, walking around the room, with Minerva right beside him as he refused to let her take even two steps away from him after what happened to Donna. He didn't want to think Donna was dead...but he didn't want to take the risk with his Clever Girl either.

"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming, we can't stay long," River looked back at the pair, "Have you found a live one?"

"Maybe, it's getting harder to tell," the Doctor thrashed his sonic, "What's wrong with you?"

"We're gonna need chicken. Who's got some chicken?" River asked the other members, receiving one from other Dave, "Thanks, Dave," she threw the leg into the shadow the Doctor was trying to examine and was stripped to the bone before touching the floor, "OK... OK, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet."

The Doctor stood up and pulled Minerva back with him, "They won't attack until there's enough of them, but they've got our scent now, they're coming."

"That's reassuring," Minerva sighed.

"I'm sorry, Clever Girl. I promise after this I'll take you to a fantastic date," he kissed her temple and was relieved to see her smiling.

"It won't be if Donna's not with us," she looked up at him and reminded, "She can't be dead, right? She has to be alive...somewhere...but she can't be dead."

With no words to comfort her, the Doctor hugged her tightly and set kisses all over her hair.

River smiled at their moment and turned away, no matter what version they were in it was always clear how much they loved each other.

"Who are they?" Dave questioned, the rest of the group agreeing with curiosity, "You've yet to tell us and yet expect us to trust them?"

"That's Minerva, and that's the Doctor," River sighed.

"And who is that exactly?" Mr. Lux raised an eyebrow.

"The only story you'll ever tell - if you survive them."

"You say they're your friends but they don't even know who you are," Anita pointed out the obvious.

"All you need to know is this... I'd trust that woman and man to the end of the universe. And actually, we've been."

"They don't act like they trust you," Anita remarked.

"Yeah well as I have mentioned previously and repeatedly, they haven't met me yet," River gritted her teeth, "But rest assure I am not lying about this, not when it concerns my life and yours," with that she walked towards the Doctor and Minerva, "What's wrong?"

The Doctor was checking his sonic again with Minerva beside him, "There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it."

"Then use the red settings."

"It doesn't have a red setting."

"Well, use the dampers."

"It doesn't have dampers."

"It will one day," River smiled and held him her sonic.

The Doctor sighed, "Alright, I accept that _that_ ," he pointed at her screwdriver, "Is _my_ screwdriver-"

"It is," she nodded.

"But I would _never_ give a stranger my screwdriver," he looked at Minerva, "There's only one person I'd give it to."

"Look, you _did_ give the screwdriver to me," River rolled her eyes, "I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about."

"And I know that because...?" he raised an eyebrow, suspicion arising in him, "How do I know you didn't hurt Minerva as well?"

"I would never hurt my Moonie!" River snapped, looking indignant of such a supposition, "Just because you've lost your friend and your angry doesn't mean you have to take it out on me! Be less emotional, Doctor-"

"Less em... I'm not emotional!"

"Children!" Minerva cut in, pushing them apart and looking between them, "We have a problem where there are six peoples' lives depending on it!"

"No, I'm tired of these mysteries!" the Doctor exclaimed and shook his head, "She's got no right and-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Look at the pair of you!" Mr. Lux stood up and shouted, "We're all gonna die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple."

"Yes, thank you for your input," River rolled her eyes and raised her hands in defeat at the pair, specifically the Doctor, "Alright listen, clearly you need some type of proof and I'll gladly show it to you," her expressions softened as she turned to Minerva and pulled out a baby-blue bracelet that looked like it was made of ice, "You gave me this, in the future," River took a breath, "And, I know you're human and you're changing but this has got to mean something to you, right? Please?" she nearly begged on the last word, "Look at it," she held the bracelet to Minerva.

"Minerva..." the Doctor warned as the brunette reached for the bracelet.

"It's fine," Minerva took the bracelet into her hands and studied the blue spheres that were indeed formed by pure ice. Her eyes flashed blue as her hands rubbed one of the spheres, "It's a Moontsay bracelet..." she looked up at River, getting the memory back of it, "How did you...how did you get this?"

"You gave it to me," River repeated, her eyes locked on the bracelet, "It's always with me just like you wanted."

"What is this?" the Doctor asked, looking at the bracelet. It was rather a simple thing. It was blue iced spheres."

"This is a sacred object," Minerva looked up at him, swallowing hard, "For Moontsays. These bracelets, also in the fashion of rings and necklaces, are created only by a Moontsay, with their powers. This bracelet is a promise, a responsibility, to the person it is gifted to. If I gave this to her..." she glanced at River, "...then I've promised to always care and look after her, give my own life if necessary."

"NO," the Doctor nearly shouted.

"It's a _promise_ ," Minerva turned the bracelet over and found a small engraving on one of the spheres, "R.F.S, what is that?" she looked at River.

"My initials," River answered quietly.

"You're under my protection..." Minerva handed her back the bracelet, "...why would you want to be under _my_ protection? I'm no...Oncoming Storm or anything," she looked at the Doctor with a smile, "If you want a hero, he's right here..."

"I know, she's right there," River pointed at Minerva, once again surprising Minerva.

"If gave you that bracelet then it means I've acquired all three of my powers back, but you do realize that I cannot offer that same protection right now? I'm no where near getting that power right now."

"I understand that perfectly," River shrugged, "I just care if you trust me or not."

"I do, apparently I do," Minerva nodded and looked up at the Doctor again, "Please, don't make me break my word. Even if I haven't made it yet...it's sacred for me and my culture."

"I'd never force you to do anything like that," the Doctor assured her, "If you trust her, then..." he studied River who gently set her bracelet back in one of her suit's pockets, seeing the genuine care she had for the object as she gently tucked it into the pocket, "...I suppose I trust her too."

"I can't protect you like I would in your day, but rest assure I will do what I can with what I have," Minerva smiled at River who nodded.

"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver?" the Doctor looked back at the rest of the group, "Very hard to interfere with, practically nothing's strong enough. Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before, so what's new, what's changed?" everyone looked at each other without any answers arising, "Come on! What's new? What's different?"

"I dunno, nothing. It's getting dark," other Dave shrugged.

"It's a screwdriver, it works in the dark," the Doctor looked around again and found Minerva looking up. He followed her gaze to the darkened sky over the doom of the room and noticed the moon, "Moon rise... Tell me about the moon. What's there?"

"It's not real, it was built as part of the Library. It's just a doctor moon," Mr. Lux answered.

"What's a doctor moon?" Minerva curiously asked.

"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."

The Doctor turned his sonic on, "Well, still active, it's signalling, look. Someone somewhere in this Library is alive and communicating with the moon, or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal's definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through..."

"Doctor!" Minerva shouted, startling him.

He looked up in time to see a fuzzy image of Donna appear ahead of them.

"Donna!" he exclaimed, but the image faded quickly.

"That was Donna, that was her! That was my ginger sister!" Minerva cried, "Can we get her back!? Does that mean she's not dead!? She's around somewhere!"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Ah, I'm being blocked," he sighed and hit his sonic again.

"Professor?" Anita called, her voice shaky for some reason.

"Just a moment," River absently discarded her as she watched with intent the Doctor work on the sonic.

"It's important. I have two shadows..."

And everyone froze after that.

"OK. Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours," River moved over to fetch the helmet.

"It didn't do Proper Dave any good," Anita said.

"Just keep it together, OK?"

"Keeping it together, I'm only crying. I'm about to die, it's not an overreaction," River put the helmet over Anita's head.

"Hang on," the Doctor sonicked her helmet and made Anita's visor go dark.

"Oh, God, they've got inside," River gasped.

"No, no, no, I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."

"Do you really think we could fool them like that?" Minerva asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm, it's not like we chat."

"How do you know that?" she challenged, making him think on it, "If they're learning then I don't see why they couldn't grasp the language..."

"Can you still see in there?" other Dave cut in asked Anita.

"Just about."

"Just, just, just... stay back. Professor, a quick word, please," the Doctor grabbed Minerva's hand, gripping it as he, she, and River moved back.

"What's wrong?" Minerva whispered, sensing it from the sudden grip on her hand.

"Down here," he bent down and pulled her too, River following, "Clever Girl," he whispered, "Like you said, there are six people still alive in this room."

"Yeah, so?" she raised an eyebrow.

"So... why are there seven?"

Everyone turned around and saw proper Dave standing at the back, "Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"Run!" the Doctor shouted.

~ 0 ~

The group ran through a corridor that connected two high buildings. The Doctor suddenly stopped and gently pushed forwards Minerva to the group, "Professor, go ahead, find a safe spot. And I'm trusting you now to protect Minerva."

"Oi, what if I don't want to go with them?" Minerva spun around, hands on hips with that look of doom he often tried avoiding, "That's the reason I didn't go with Donna, remember? Besides, that's a carnivorous swarm in a suit."

"But it's like you said, remember? If they're learning then what's stopping them from using language to communicate?"

Minerva sighed heavily, "Now I get what you mean when you say it's annoying when I'm right."

"Just give me five minutes," he held up his five fingers.

"Okay," she nodded, stepping back to him, 'Five minutes it is," she took his hand and gripped it with no chance of release.

He sighed, "This whole 'together thing'..."

"Well if you say you're going to marry me one day you better get used this. I wouldn't let you go anywhere without me."

"You two are deranged!" River cut into their moment, "Vashta Nerada don't just stop and talk!"

"River, five minutes," Minerva nodded, "He needs five minutes."

River groaned, "Other Dave, stay with them, pull them out when they're too stupid to live. Two minutes!" she warned as she took the other members away. She's forgotten how careless they were for their lives back before...

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" proper Dave neared them.

The Doctor and Minerva turned around, the Doctor pulling the brunette slightly behind him as he moved closer to proper Dave, "You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit before you climbed inside it and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now, if you don't have the decency to let him go, how about this? Use him. Talk to me. It's easy, neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me."

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system, but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?"

"We should go. Doctor!" other Dave called.

"In a minute. You came to the Library to hunt, why? Just tell me why?" the Doctor insisted.

"We...did not," proper Dave suddenly said.

"Oh, I take back the thing about hating it when I'm right," Minerva whispered, stepping around the Doctor to get a better look.

"We did not," the Vashta Nerada repeated.

"Take it easy, you'll get the hang of it. Did not what?" asked the Doctor.

"We... did not... come... here."

"Well that's rubbish, of course you did, of course you came here," Minerva crossed her arms.

"We come from here."

"From here?" the Doctor asked.

"We hatched here."

"But you hatch from trees, from spores in trees."

"These are our forests."

"But this isn't a forest," Minerva said, "You're in a library!"

"These are our forests."

"You're not in a forest, you're in a library. There are no trees in a..." the Doctor then realized the meaning, "...library."

"We should go. Doctor!" other Dave called.

"Books. You came in the books. Microspores in a million million books," the Doctor breathed.

"We should go. Doctor!" other Dave called again.

Minerva looked out to the city of bookshelves, "Oh my god, then these are... _forest_ of Vashta Nerada..."

"...pulped and printed and bound. A million million books, hatching shadows," the Doctor added.

"We should go. Doctor!"

The Doctor looked back at other Dave with a second realization, "Oh Dave! Oh, Dave, I'm so sorry."

Other Dave's neural relay were blinking and a skeleton was now visible inside the helmet, both proper and other Dave began closing in on the pair.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"

"We should go. Doctor!"

The Doctor discreetly moved Minerva in front of him, one arm around her waist while the other held his screwdriver, "Thing about me, I'm stupid, I talk too much, always babbling on, this gob doesn't stop for anything. I really don't know how Minerva has lasted so long with me because wow do I talk."

"It's because I love you and try to catch up with you," she answered, making him chuckle.

"But do you wanna know the only reason I'm still alive? Always stay near the door," he pointed the sonic to the floor underneath their feet where a trapdoor laid.

The two were thrust down leaving the skeletons to look after them, seeing nothing but hundreds of floors below. Underneath their building however, were the pair climbing under the corridor on metal structures.

~ 0 ~

River, Anita and Mr. Lux had found another room and River was examining the shadows with her screwdriver, "You know... it's funny, I keep wishing Minerva and the Doctor were here."

"They're here aren't they?" Anita became confused, "They're coming back, right?"

"You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them? It's like they're not quite... finished, they're not done yet. Well... yes, Minerva and the Doctor are here. My Moonie came when I called, just like she always does. But that's not my Moonie," River shook her head, "She's in the process, quite literally," she faintly smiled, "My Moonie is sweet and kind, but if you anger her you will feel the wrath of the Moontsay, and not just any Moontsay, a royal Moontsay. She will fight with tooth and nail to protect her family, and she has. She's known for all her accomplishments with her people and the business markets. Everyone always underestimates her and always end up losing to her. She's incredible, and she's my Moonie. And the Doctor? The man's an idiot," River playfully rolled her eyes, "But he's a hero, like Minerva said. I've seen whole armies turn and run away. Both incredible and both made for one another. I love when they just swagger off back to their TARDIS ..." she lightly chuckled, "...the box of wonders, Minerva calls it. And they'd open the doors of the box of wonders with a snap of a finger. My Moonie, and the Doctor... in the TARDIS... next stop: everywhere."

"Spoilers! Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers," the Doctor called from upstairs, "It doesn't work like that."

"Or maybe it does," Minerva considered the idea as she followed him down the stairs.

"It doesn't," he assured her.

"It does for them, you know," River couldn't help the bit of sourness in her tone. Sometimes the man could be so stubborn!

The Doctor ignored her and walked over to Anita, "How are you doing?"

"Where's Other Dave?" River looked around when she noticed it had just been the pair that came in.

Minerva made a face, "Sorry..."

"If they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor looked down and saw the two shadows still around her, "Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."

"It's making a difference all right. No-one's ever going to see my face again."

"Can we get you anything?" Minerva softly asked, moving closer to them.

"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"

"My Martian is all over it," Minerva assured, patting the Doctor's arm.

"When we first met you two, neither of you trusted Professor Song. And then she showed you some bracelet, and you did. What's so special about a simple bracelet that acquired so much trust? Does it really protect you?"

Minerva sighed, "I honestly don't know. This me, the human me, I have no idea what a bracelet like that can do. But my alien side knows that it's special, that it's _sacred_. I just know that I have to keep my word to River and keep her safe. But don't worry, I don't need a bracelet to try and keep you safe. I'd do it anyways."

"Safe..." the Doctor blinked, beginning to think on the word all of a sudden, "Safe. You don't say saved, nobody says saved, you say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?

"4,022 people saved. No survivors." Mr. Lux answered.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Minerva frowned.

"Nobody says saved, nutters say saved, you say safe. But you see, it didn't mean safe, it meant... it literally meant... saved!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor worked on an information terminal with Minerva and River on either side of him, "See, there it is, right there! A hundred years ago, massive power surge, all the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm, the computer tries to teleport everyone out."

"It tried to teleport 4,022 people?" River asked.

"Succeeded, pulled 'em all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them, nowhere safe in the whole Library, Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. 4,022 people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"

"It _saved_ them..." Minerva raised her eyebrows, "...woah."

"The Library, a whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved 4,022 people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."

An alarm began blaring all of a sudden, making everyone cover their ears, "What is it? What's wrong?" Mr. Lux shouted.

 _Autodestruct enabled in 20 minutes._

"What's maximum erasure?" River read off the terminal screen.

"20 minutes, this planet's gonna crack like an egg!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"No! No, it's all right, the doctor moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect CAL," Mr. Lux removed his hands from his ears as the alarm faded in volume.

But the terminal screen went blank.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor hit the side of it in frustration.

 _All Library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience. Shortly..._

"We need to stop this, we've got to save CAL!" Mr. Lux cried.

"What is that?" Minerva turned to him, "What is so important about CAL?"

"We need to get to the main computer, I'll show you."

"It's at the core of the planet," the Doctor said.

"Well, then. Let's go!" River sonicked the symbol on the floor in the center of the room which made it open up, "Gravity platform!"

"Oh, I like that setting," Minerva remarked.

"You do," River nodded.

They stepped onto the platform and felt it descend to their destination.

~ 0 ~

 _Autodestruct in 15 minutes._

"The Data Core! 4,000 living minds, trapped inside it," the Doctor stepped off the platform once they were in the data cor.

"Yeah, well they won't be living much longer, we're running out of time," River remarked.

Suddenly, they heard a little girl's cry for help coming from the computer terminal, "Help me. Please, help me."

"What's that?" Anita asked.

"That's a child's voice," Minerva frowned.

"Computer's in sleep mode," the Doctor was typing away on a small keyboard, "I can't wake it up. I'm trying."

"Doctor, these readings!" River had a look at the several screens around them.

"I know, you'd think it was... dreaming."

"It is dreaming...of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written," Mr. Lux spoke up, a sad tinge in his tone.

"But computers don't dream," Minerva shook her head, "Last time I remember..."

"Help me. Please help me," the little girl's cry came up again.

"No, but little girls do," Mr. Lux pushed a lever and opened a door.

They ran over to the next room as a Node was turning its head to them. It wore the face of a little girl that was pleading for some help, "Please help me. Please help me."

"Oh my god!" Minerva covered her mouth. If Donna was here she probably would have really lost it now.

"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer," Anita reminded.

"She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is CAL," Mr. Lux gestured.

"CAL is a child! A child hooked up to a mainframe?" the Doctor demanded, fairly irritated, "Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!"

"Because she's family! CAL... Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library, and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time, any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything. He gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."

"So you weren't protecting a patent, you were protecting her," Minerva whispered.

"This is only half a life, of course. But it's for ever."

"And then the shadows came..." the Doctor looked at the Node.

"Shadows. I have to... I have to save. Have to save..."

"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the Library, folded them into her dreams and kept them safe."

"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.

"Because she's forgotten. She's got over 4,000 living minds chatting away inside her head, it must be like... being... well, me."

"Okay, so what do we do?" River asked.

 _Autodestruct in ten minutes._

"Easy! We beam all the people out of the data core, the computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult, Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer," the Doctor shrugged, "Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer and she can borrow my memory space!"

"Somehow that _doesn't_ sound so easy," Minerva remarked.

"Try 'it'll kill him stone dead'," River crossed her arms.

"Yeah, bond to criticize me," the Doctor playfully rolled his eyes.

"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate!" River exclaimed.

"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing."

"No! You can't do that!" Minerva snapped, "You can't die. You can't keep doing that to me!"

"I'm right and this works! Shut up. Now listen, you and Luxy-boy, back up to the main Library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as your air, shut up!" he snapped, he didn't like what he was doing but he wasn't about to leave 4,000 people trapped to die.

"Ha! I hate you sometimes!" River remarked and walked for the exit, Mr. Lux behind her, "Minerva, just saying, if he dies, I'll kill him!"

"You can't die on me, Martian. Don't you get tired of this?" Minerva moved closer to him.

"You want me to leave 4000 people stranded?"

"No...but...there has to be another way," she looked around, "Maybe...maybe...um..."

"What about the Vashta Nerada?" Anita suddenly asked.

"These are their forests. I'm gonna seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content," the Doctor muttered.

"So you think they're just gonna let us go?"

"Best offer they're gonna get."

"You're gonna make 'em an offer?"

"They'd better take it, cos right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what... " he glanced back with a hard look at the creature inside the spacesuit then returned to his work, "I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying, and she never gave in. And you ate her," he used his sonic to make her visor transparent.

Minerva gasped lightly and turned to look at 'Anita', "Oh...I told her I'd keep her safe too..."

"I'm gonna let that pass. Just as long as you let them pass," the Doctor said.

"How long have you known?"

"I counted the shadows. You only have one now," he looked at the blinking neural relay, "She's nearly gone. Be kind."

"These are our forests. We are not kind."

"I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go," he walked back to the terminal, making sure Minerva was still with him.

"Doctor," she tugged on his arm and made him look back to see the shadows reaching for them from Anita's feet.

"These are our forests. They are our meat."

"Don't play games with me! You just killed someone I liked, that is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up," he darkly glared at the, gripping Minerva's hand in his and using it to move her behind him.

After a short pause, the shadows withdrew from them, "You have one day," the suit collapsed on the floor as River entered the room again.

"Anita!" River exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, she's been dead a while now. I told you to go!" the Doctor snapped, "And you can take Minerva with you this time."

"No!" Minerva turned to him, "God, just stop! We can find another way, I promise!" but then River walked up to them, turned the Doctor around and punched him unconscious, "That wasn't nice..." Minerva blinked, looking at her Martian on the floor.

"...yeah well, dying isn't nice either," and without another word, River handcuffed herself to Minerva, "Before you get any ideas."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor awoke to find River sitting a chair across them fiddling with wires. He then found himself handcuffed to a pillar with Minerva separately handcuffed to the same pillar.

Minerva sighed, "So...I get tricked with hand cuffs very easily..."

After River handcuffed her with each other she told Minerva she'd uncuff her as soon as she helped cuff the Doctor for safety measures. Secretly, Minerva wasn't about to let River do whatever it is the Doctor had planned on to save the 4000 people. She was going to quickly handcuff River to the pillar as soon as she was set free and then, she didn't know, maybe take the place on the chair or something? But that River tricked her. While she'd help cuff the Doctor, River had cuffed Minerva's other hand to the pillar and then freed the handcuff between them. Simple, yet...not so easily seen. She was sneaky!

 _Autodestruct in two minutes._

"Oh, no, no, no, no, come on, what are you doing? That's my job!" the Doctor reached for River but with the handcuffs that was impossible.

"Oh, and I'm not allowed to have a career, I suppose?" River raised an eyebrow, "Moonie!" she pretended to pout.

"Why are we handcuffed? Why do you even have two pairs of handcuffs?"

"I asked..." Minerva sighed again, shaking her head then giving him a sharp look, "... _don't_ ask."

"This is not a joke, stop this now, this is gonna kill her!" he snapped.

"You think I don't know that?" she snapped right back, "You think I just let her hand cuff me to this thing?" she wiggled her handcuffed wrist, "No! She punched you then tricked me."

He sighed, realizing he was yelling at the wrong person, "River, c'mon, I'd have a chance, you don't have any."

"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I. I'm timing it for the end of the countdown, there'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download," she focused on the wires.

"River, maybe there's another way," Minerva called.

"Not at all," River shook her head then stopped and looked at them both with a half-smile, "Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All those times, adventures...you knew. You know, the last time I saw you, the real pair of you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit and Minerva in a new dress," she smiled softly at that, "I was taken to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang, and both of you cried, especially you Moonie..."

 _Autodestuct in one minute._

"Neither of you wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver - that should've been a clue," River laughed at how oblivious she'd been on that day.

The sonic screwdrivers were paired together and left over River's diary, with Minerva's blue iced bracelet beside them, on the ground between them. The Doctor tried reaching for them but they were a little too far.

"River you can't die," Minerva whispered, "I may not know what that bracelet meant exactly but I know it's sacred."

"Don't you worry, Moonie," River smiled sadly, "It's time for me to go too, now."

"You can let me do this!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I can't, and I won't," River looked at them both, "Can't leave my Moonie without her Martian? What kind of...what kind of person would I be if I allowed that to happen?"

"River...please," Minerva pleaded, "I don't know you, fine, apart from that bracelet as well...I don't want you to die!"

"It's alright though. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me, time and space. You watch us run, Moonie!"

"River, why did I give you that bracelet?"

"It was a very eventful day," River laughed softly, "You just popped it out and promised me."

 _Autodestruct in ten..._

"But I promised you..." Minerva's voice broke as her eyes teared up.

"Moonie, you have lived up to your word and now I release you from it," River smiled through her own tears, "When I needed you most, you were there, just like you always promised. Thank you," she looked at the Doctor, "Take good care of her."

 _...nine, eight, seven..._

"Thank you Moonie, Doctor."

 _...three, two, one..._

River plugged in the two cables and a blinding white light took over the room.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva could hear Mr. Lux's cries of joy from the reception room...but there was a bittersweet moment, and a hard one.

~ 0 ~

 _Please be patient. Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in..._

"Any luck?" Minerva asked Donna as she rejoined them.

"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the Library that day. Suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?" the ginger sighed.

"Maybe not," the Doctor shrugged.

"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"

"Everything..." the Doctor absently said. Minerva elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt, "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say "nothing". I was aiming for "nothing", I accidentally said "everything".

 _Stand right in the middle of the teleport, please. Keep your hands and feet inside at all times._

"What about you two?" Donna looked from one to the other, noticing how upset they were, "Are you alright?"

"To the usual extent," Minerva sighed.

"I'ma always alright," the Doctor forced a small smile as he hugged Minerva from behind.

"Is "all right" special Time Lord/Moontsay code for... "really not all right at all"?" Donna tried.

"Why?"

"Cos I'm "all right", too."

"I think we should go home," Minerva sighed, taking the Doctor's hand that was around her.

"Come on," he moved beside her and held his other hand to Donna.

She took it and the three walked out of the reception room. Unaware, they'd missed Donna's 'Lee' husband standing in the middle of the teleport. The man tried calling after them but he struggled with a stammering he seemed to have forgotten.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor put River's TARDIS book on the balustrade, with his newer screwdriver over it. Minerva then placed her blue iced bracelet beside it.

"Your friend... Professor Song... She knew you in the future, but she didn't get to me. Did she happen to say something of my future?" Donna nudged them, "Like what happens? Do I find that perfect husband?"

"Donna... This is her diary. My future and Minerva's," the Doctor smirked, "I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek at the end?"

"Spoilers, right?" Donna sighed.

"Right."

"I'm tired, I need some good rest," Minerva sighed.

"And then perhaps that date I promised you?" the Doctor tried, hoping to see if Minerva had the mood for it after what they'd gone through, especially her.

"Perhaps, but you'll have to make it real good," Minerva took his hand as they started walking out.

"I can work with that, you know."

"Mind if you drop me off like a spa or something?" Donna cut in, making them laugh, "No, I'm serious. I don't want to be a third wheel on a date. You guys go on to wherever and you just leave ole Donna on like an intergalactic cruise or something. I'd be completely fine with that."

The pair just laughed again but suddenly the Doctor froze, making Minerva stop as well, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"My screwdriver..."

"What about it?"

"I don't give that to anyone, only you..."

"Right, but..."

"But you swore to protect her...and that would be a hell of a motive for me to try and help," the Doctor started smirking and ran back to River's diary and picked up the screwdriver, Minerva and Donna hurriedly catching up, "I'd only give River Song my screwdriver if it meant it'd save her life."

"You're telling me that you figured something out in the future?" Minerva began smiling.

"Let's find out," he opened a part of the screwdriver and revealed green lights behind, resembling that of a neural relay, "Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that! I'm very good!"

"What have you done?" Donna asked, confused.

"Saved her!" he ran up to Minerva, "One more quick trip?"

"One last save," Minerva took his hand and the two ran off, leaving Donna to wonder what the hell they were talking about.

~ 0 ~

"Stay with me! You can do it, stay with me! Come on, you and me, one last run! Sorry, River, shortcut!" the Doctor used the screwdriver to disable the gravity platform, "And sorry Minerva," he jumped into the hole with her.

~ 0 ~

The pair quickly arrived at the core of the library where CAL was. The Doctor plugged the screwdriver to the computer and smiled up at CAL.

~ 0 ~

River appeared in the virtual world of CAL, in front of a hospital where she was greeted by Dr. Moon and a little brunette girl.

"It's OK. You're safe. You'll always be safe here," the little girl said as River looked around in confusion, "The Doctor fixed the data core. This is a good place now. But I was worried you might be lonely. So I brought you some friends. Aren't I a clever girl?"

"Aren't we all?" Miss Evangelista's voice called.

River turned around to see Miss Evangelista, Proper Dave, Other Dave and Anita walking towards her, "Oh, for heaven's sake! My Moonie is just that incredible? And the Doctor's not that bad," she laughed to herself, "They didn't give up! Thank you!" she cried and went to hug everyone.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva walked back to the TARDIS where Donna was assumed to be waiting. Minerva looked up at him with pure excitement. He smiled and held his hand out to the TARDIS, snapping his fingers.

Minerva gasped, "It works...the box of wonders open with a snap of a finger!"

"That'll come in handy later on when I'm bringing home my wife after our wedding," he mumbled to her, kissing her temple.

She blushed and pulled him towards the TARDIS, "Oh Martian..."

"I was serious!" the Doctor exclaimed and received the laughter of Minerva instead.

~ 0 ~

* * *

 _"Mommy, it'll be okay," a young Kaeya held her mother's hand in hers, the Queen laying in a bed looking ill, "There has to be medicines or something..."_

 _The Queen wearily glanced at her daughter, a small smile on her face, "There is nothing more the doctors can do for me, sweetheart. It's all up to me now."_

 _"But how...?" Kaeya's eyes widened when her mind clicked with the plan her mother was planning on, "Mom, no, no!" Kaeya immediately stood up, completely alarmed, "No, mom, it's dangerous!"_

 _The Queen was struggling to sit up as she spoke, "It's either this or die, Kaeya...and frankly, I'm not ready to go yet."_

 _"But...but regeneration? It's dangerous, no one's attempted it in centuries! Please, no..." Kaeya's voice broke with utter terror._ _The door of the room opened up and in came Kaeya's father, the King. Kaeya spun around and ran up to him, "Please make her stop, she can't do this! She can't regenerate!"_

 _The King grabbed hold of the frantic Kaeya and hugged her tight, "It'll be alright, I promise. We've been looking into this and we think we have it."_

 _"Have it?" Kaeya pulled away and looked back at her mother who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, "It's REGENERATION! You can't just 'have it', it's a full-blown lottery! And for US," she pointed at all of them, desperate to stop the nonsense her parents were thinking of doing, "It's even MORE dangerous! Mommy, please..." she faced her mother again, "...I don't want to lose you, please don't do it."_

 _The King went over to help his wife to her feet, "Kaeya there is no other way to do this anymore," he sighed._

 _"But-"_

 _"Kaeya," the Queen spoke in a louder, serious tone that immediately quieted down Kaeya, "I know you're scared and I'm sorry that it's because of me...but there's nothing left. It's either I try regenerating or...die. Now, I'm not going down without a fight. We've looked into this process and...I think I have it."_

 _"But what if you don't...?" Kaeya's eyes teared up._

 _"I am doing this for you and your father, you better believe I'm going to get this right," the Queen declared with 100% certainty. She turned and hugged the King._

 _"We'll be here waiting for you," the King assured her as he stepped away, "The room is secure for any level of force from the regeneration."_

 _The Queen nodded then faced Kaeya once more, opening her arms for a last hug. Kaeya didn't waste a moment and ran up to her mother for that hug. The Queen placed a kiss on Kaeya's head, "I'm going to get it right, you'll see. I will," she held onto Kaeya's hand where a baby-blue bracelet was tied around her wrist, "You'll see."_

 _Kaeya felt her father tug her back to the other end of the room. There they watched the Queen get into position and into focus. Kaeya felt her heart beating like it would burst within her chest, her eyes already partially blurring her vision. She didn't know how nor when but she started seeing a faint blue and silver glow surround her mother. Next thing she knew, her mother was screaming in what Kaeya would describe was utter agony._

* * *

"NOOO!" Minerva woke up with a loud scream. She sat upright and felt the immediate voltage of the Doctor beside her. The Time Lord was up and trying to calm Minerva down. She was pale and a bit sweaty, her breath heavy and eyes darting from one side to another, "Lights! Lights! Lights!" she cried in terror.

"Minerva, it's alright! It's alright!" the Doctor tried to keep her still, the lights automatically turning on (thanks to the TARDIS) not helping very much.

"I saw her! I saw her!" Minerva was in tears as she recalled her dream, or nightmare, or memory.

"Who? Who did you see?" the Doctor held her head in his hands, "Hey, it's ME, look," he softly smiled at her, "See? Just your Martian."

Minerva nodded in accepance, "I'm sorry," she sniffled, "It's just...there was a...I had a..."

"Nightmare," the Doctor assumed.

" _Memory_..." Minerva's eyes filled with more tears.

"You remembered something? What was it...?" the Doctor was dreading the answer judging by the appearance and shouts Minerva had given.

"My mom, my actual, birth mom...and she was dying," Minerva looked to the side, "And she was screaming, she was...regenerating, and I was so scared."

She could remember faintly the moment her mother had regenerated but she was more than sure the full memory would be coming back to her with time.

"Oh Minerva, I'm sorry," the Doctor hugged her tight, "I'm so sorry."

"I was so scared back then," Minerva buried her head in his chest and quietly sobbed, "I could feel it."

The Doctor sighed and pressed a kiss on her forehead, "Hey, I know this looks bad, and it kinda is, but let's try to look on the positive side."

"What's the positive side?" Minerva honestly questioned, wondering how he could turn this situation into something good.

"You saw your _mother_ ," he began with a soft smile, "You saw her again, you remembered her."

"I...did," Minerva blinked as she considered that factor.

"Yeah, you did," the Doctor nodded, "And that's good, isn't it? Especially because you know it all turned out fine, she survived the regeneration."

Minerva nodded and allowed him to lay them back on the bed, "She was so pretty..." she whispered, "...her eyes were the same as mine, blue as the water."

"Just like yours," the Doctor smiled and brought her closer to him.

"My dad was there too...and he was so handsome. I liked his hugs. I saw my parents," Minerva let it sink in, "My birth parents..."

"And now it's time to sleep, Clever Girl. You may be alien but you're still partly human which means it's time for you to get some sleep," the Doctor reminded and kissed her head.

"But I saw my parents," Minerva had pretty much ignored him as she thought of the dream again, choosing to look at it in the way the Doctor had made it: a memory of her birth parents.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! Bam, what did you think? Think you can piece together what River might be to Minerva and the Doctor? Primarily Minerva, apparently ;) And uh oh, there came the first true memory for Minerva :o wonder how that'll work out when she remembers completely.

 _For Reviews:_

Yaaaay for their coming marriage lol ^.^ Thanks! Well, as you clearly saw above, River sure doesn't hate Minerva one bit. Aww, thanks for that. I just sometimes feel like I'm rambling on here and no one really cares so I feel kinda bad for inserting pieces of my life in there xD. No, I haven't read stories from 'Tinker16' but confession time: I absolutely adore LizzeXX DW stories! I've read every single one except for two spin off's and that was only because it involved DW characters I don't like. She's kinda the reason why I made this account in the first place to follow/favorite her stories. So, to be ranked with her level of writing is a BIG complement to me, thank you! You made my day (or in my case night lol).

Aw, thank you! And updated now :)

Spoilers is a fun word to use lol I couldn't help it! By 'swing' I assume present the chapter...right? ._. And if it is, then it's just going to be one emotional chapter lol you'll have to wait and see ;)

There may or may not be a confrontation between Minerva and Marisol...at the moment I'm trying to figure out where I could insert that scene into the main story. But if I really can't figure it out I may just add it to the 1-shot/AU side-story I have for this one for people to read. Sorry, but Minerva will remember exactly who Rose was and there'll be some...words, said here and there ;)

I missed writing them in all their fluffy glory too lol It's so much fun writing them like that, that it becomes a challenge to write them in any other atmosphere tbh.

Ah yes, Minerva learned a lesson with that argument too. It's not easy controlling one's emotions and words and she finally got that with the Doctor for a moment. Oh, Minerva will definitely show a difference when she returns to her natural self, during the first couple moments anyways.

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts! I really love them and hope this chapter was to your liking! Until next time :)


	18. Midnight

Donna laid lazily on a sunbathing chair with a pool right ahead of her. She smiled as she looked up and saw the blue light making circles above her in the ceiling. A butler arrived with a ringing telephone which Donna took and answered with a small sigh of annoyance, "When I allowed you two to stay with me in this spa I thought we agreed there would be no annoyances!" she huffed, watching the butler walk away.

~ 0 ~

"I kept telling the Doctor to stop calling you," Minerva held a phone in her hand, the Doctor beside her, "But he insisted we ask you again."

He took the phone from her and spoke into it while shooting her a small frown, "Well excuse me if I'd like our friend to come with us."

~ 0 ~

Donna playfully rolled her eyes, "I already said no! C'mon guys, this is _my_ spa, has been for a month now. Don't come and ruin it."

After the Library incident, the Doctor had taken Donna to a spa just like she'd asked while he and Minerva went on that date he promised her. However, one date turned into a second date...into a third...into a fourth...in the end, it had turned out to be a date spree. Meanwhile, a week at the spa had turned into a month for Donna...not that she was upset over it. She expected something like that to happen after the Library. After the time they'd been forced to spend apart (while Minerva had amnesia) it was only natural they wanted to soak up all the time they had now. Donna was more than glad to give them that space they needed...especially when it involved her staying a luxurious spa where she didn't pay a dime! However, after that month, the Doctor and Minerva arrived at the spa earlier in the day and the Doctor had heard about some waterfall and insisted that Donna accompany him and Minerva there.

"Sapphire waterfall - it's a waterfall made of sapphires!" the Doctor exclaimed through the phone, "This enormous jewel, size of a glacier, reaches the Cliffs of Oblivion, and then shatters into sapphires at the edge - they fall 100,000 feet into a crystal ravine."

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Donna replied.

Minerva shot the Doctor a playful glare, "I hope not. _I_ haven't heard that line."

"That's because you're not just some girl," he leaned down and gave her a short kiss, "You're the love of my life," he gave her a second kiss, "The woman I want to spend the rest of my life- _lives_ -with," and a third kiss was given.

"Oi! I'm still here you know!" they heard Donna shout from the other line.

Minerva blushed, "Oh Martian, how about we let poor Donna continue relaxing in her spa and we can go see that waterfall alone?" she trailed a finger down the side of his face, "Another date?"

The Doctor could've let the phone drop to the floor at the proposal but Donna had been very understanding with the loss of time and so he couldn't be rude to her now, "Donna, I'll have to talk to you later now..." he announced while staring at Minerva.

~ 0 ~

Donna could only guess what was going on at the other end of the line, "There's a shocker."

"We'll be back for dinner, Donna!" Minerva promised, "I heard it was anti-gravity! And there's bibs!"

"That's a date, sis. Don't get jealous, spaceman," Donna heard Minerva laugh and smiled, "And you two better be careful alright."

"Oh, I'm taking my lovely girlfriend on a date on a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight - what could possibly go wrong?" the Doctor hung up the phone then rested his hands on Minerva's waist, his gaze never having left her, "I think it'll be wonderful."

She smiled and moved her hands up to his shoulders, "Eight complete hours with my Martian? Hm, has someone been peeking at my Christmas wish list?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I promise I haven't looked."

"Are you lying?"

"Nope, I just always know how to make my Clever Girl happy," he grinned.

"Even when she's turning into someone new," she said with a sad smile, "I'm ever so lucky," she leaned up and kissed him.

~ 0 ~

The couple was now sat indifr the shuttle that would be taking them to see the waterfall. The Doctor watched as the last of the passengers boarded the shuttle, when...

"I'm looking so weird now!" Minerva complained as she lifted a strand of her hair.

The Doctor looked at her with confusion. Minerva frowned as she took notice of how her hair was changing thanks to the process speeding up. Her shade of brown was now sporting little slashes of ashy brunette colors. It made it seem as if she had highlights of brown shades. The Doctor had tried to assure Minerva that she looked just fine, but it went deeper than just having a different color of hair for her. For Minerva, losing her human hair's natural brown color meant that she was one step closer to being alien. It meant she was one step farther away from retaining her humanity. She was one step closer to being a new woman...and she still didn't know how to felt about that. This wasn't even meant to happen, after all! The necklace treated her first and second (and current) incarnation as two different people and was trying to accommodate as best as it could...only Minerva didn't think it was going well at all.

"You look fine, dear," the Doctor kissed her temple, "Absolutely gorgeous as usual."

She looked at him with a soft smile. At least she was understanding that a different hair color wasn't affecting his love for her. While he thought it would be ridiculous to stop loving her over a hair color, for Minerva it was really important.

"I think you would look gorgeous in any color," the Doctor said to her, sensing where her thoughts may have ended up at.

"Really?" she asked.

He nodded and proceeded to run his fingers through her hair, still as soft and straight as ever, "You'd look gorgeous in any color. You can have black hair, blue hair even," she chuckled lightly, "You can be ginger."

"Even if you're not?"

"You'd make a better ginger than I," he assured, "Or a blonde, even."

At that, Minerva stopped smiling, "I don't know, I think I'm just used to my appearance like this."

The Doctor just smiled and kissed her. To him, she really would look beautiful in any hair color. If she had to regenerate again, he wouldn't care what she looked like. For him, she'd always look like the goddess she was. Right now, she wore simple yellow buttoned-up blouse with white jeans tucked underneath brown knee boots. Her hair was left down with a white headband to keep it off her face. Finishing the outfit off was the baby-blue iced necklace around her neck that was the origin of all her problems. As simple of an outfit as it was, she looked like a goddess. She always did and always would, no matter what.

Someone cleared their throat which made the pair pull away from each other. The Doctor looked back and saw the Hostess of the shuttle. Minerva looked up and blushed.

The Hostess just smiled politely and began handing them several things, "That's the headphones for Channels 1 to 36; modem link for 3D vidgames; complimentary earplugs; complimentary slippers; complimentary juice pack; and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts."

"That'll be the peanuts," the Doctor said and handed them to Minerva.

"Enjoy your trip."

"Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y!"

Minerva contained a giggle when the Hostess looked at the Doctor with confusion, "I'm sorry?" the Hostess asked.

"It's French, for let's go!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Fascinating," the Hostess mumbled and simply moved on to the people sitting behind them.

"Somehow I don't think she was fascinated," the Doctor made a face.

Minerva smiled, "I'm fascinated by it...and you."

"Only one I want to fascinate," he reached over to kiss her again.

The Doctor felt like he had truly improved Minerva's confidence again. He knew that Minerva was changing and that the process was beginning to pick up its speed. She openly displayed traits of Kaeya now and he knew those were there to stay. Her voice had noticeable tinges of Kaeya now and while Minerva felt like it was awful, the Doctor liked it. He honestly didn't know how he would react to the new Minerva, but he knew that he'd accept her nonetheless. He worried for her and her feelings but for now he really liked the changes in her. Her confidence had built up and he knew that was partly from Kaeya's traits. Kaeya had always been confident of herself back on the Monsoon and that had leaked unto Minerva. Apart from that were the external changes in Minerva. Her hair was beginning to change color, for the moment appearing like highlights. Her body temperature was still decreasing and while there were times where Minerva felt unbearably cold, she could still withstand all types of temperatures. The one thing the Doctor could not figure out was a small complain Minerva had began making about her hands. She said she felt like they were colder than the rest of her body and that at times they felt...heavy, like her finger tips felt something was building up inside. Zohar had theorized it was her Moontsay powers beginning to activate. They wouldn't be doing much for several more months but it was how it all started.

"How are your hands?" he asked when he pulled away from her, "Are they any better now?"

Minerva sighed lightly and gave a small shrug, she really didn't want to complain anymore. She knew she only made the Doctor feel worse that he couldn't really do much to help. After such a wonderful month, she felt like _she_ was the downer of the relationship now, like it came automatically and she didn't want to turn into a sour, bitter woman.

"They're better, thank you," she said quietly.

Truthfully, when he took her hand into his and felt the warmness he supplied, they felt much better. She missed what it felt like to be that warm. The month had only served to show her new ways of feeling the coldness spurring inside of her. She knew that by now, she only had a small amount of time left as a human.

"Have you got that pillow for my neck?" a man's voice arose from behind them.

"Yes, sir," a younger woman's voice came afterwards.

The Doctor smiled at Minerva and leaned over, "Want to make new friends?" he whispered.

"What's a date without one?" she countered.

They both grinned at each other and looked behind their seats to see an elderly man sitting with a young woman beside him.

"Hobbes! Professor Winfold Hobbes!" the elderly man immediately greeted them, shaking the Doctor's hand first.

"I'm the Doctor, hello!"

"Minerva," the brunette shook his hand next.

"It's my 14th time!" the professor remarked.

"Our first," the Doctor replied.

"And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco," the young woman shook the pair's hands as well.

"Now don't bother them! Where's my water bottle?" the professor questioned, the pair returning to their seats afterwards.

Minerva felt something vibrate in her pocket and remembered she had Martha's cellphone inside her pocket. She pulled it out and opened it up to see a message from her father, "Oops," she looked at the Doctor with a face, "We forgot to give a call yesterday."

"Well to be fair we were a little distracted," he reminded.

"Yeah but I don't think telling my dad we went to see a supernova is going to be a good excuse for not calling. He'd say we could've called before or after."

"We can visit tomorrow if you'd like. Go and see your grandmother too. It'd be a nice surprise for Martha before she leaves."

Minerva nodded, "Yeah, and not to mention thanking her numerous times for solving my little problem with UNIT."

Martha had kept her word to the pair and decreed the case of the mysterious alien patient as dead for UNIT. The case was closed up pretty fast and all investigations were dropped aside too. Now, she was being transferred to New York and Minerva didn't want her best friend to leave before seeing her again.

"Martha Jones, brilliant," the Doctor remarked, completely grateful to the woman as well.

"So we'll go tomorrow then," Minerva agreed, "I'll send them the message later because there's no signal here."

"Perfect date, no cell phone distractions," the Doctor made a face that caused Minerva to laugh.

"Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader 50," the Hostess stood at the front of the shuttle, "If you would fasten your seat belts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors!" the doors were sealed automatically, "Shields down!" and the shields descended down in front of the windows, "I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder, Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it... you first," she laughed, "Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe."

Driver Joe's voice emerged from the intercom on command, "Driver Joe at the wheel! There's been a diamond fall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map," a map was shown on a screen at the head of the shuttle, " The journey covers 500 kliks to the Multifaceted Coast, duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!" the engines were turned on and the shuttle began its journey.

"For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth Classics," the Hostess pushed a key on her remote and a screen appeared in font of each passenger that showed Raffaello Cara singing 'Do It Do It Again', "Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovico Klein," the Hostess pushed another key and made a hologram appear, "Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat - the Animation Archives," the Hostess turned a projector on that showed old cartoons, "Four hours of fun time! Enjoy!"

Minerva shut her eyes at the sound of all the screens emitting their sounds simultaneously, "This is why I hate technology and don't use phones or laptops."

"I got it, dear," the Doctor whispered. She opened her eyes and saw him using the sonic screwdriver to shut everything down.

She breathed a sigh of relief at the silence, "Oh thank god I have my Martian with me."

"Well, that's a mercy!" the professor behind them said, also sounding very relieved.

The Hostess quickly made her way back up to the front of the shuttle, trying various keys on her remote to get everything working again, "I do apologize, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System..."

"That's too bad," Minerva mumbled.

"But what do we do?!" a woman at the back of the shuttle cried.

"We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just... sitting here?" the woman's husband added.

"You'll have talk to people," Minerva lifted herself on her seats to shoot them a sweet grin, "You know, that thing people do at times...could be fun," the Doctor smiled in amusement at his Clever Girl. Her sarcasm and sassiness were two things that had definitely not changed throughout the process and he was very glad for it.

~ 0 ~

 **98 KLIKS LATER.**

Just like Minerva had proposed, all of the passengers, except a blonde woman and a young teenage boy were sat on opposite sides of the shuttles. Val and Biff, the parents of the teenager, were telling a story to the passengers and making them laugh.

"So Biff said, "I'm going swimming,'" Val said and turned to her husband.

"Oh, I was all ready, trunks and everything! Nose plug!" Biff pointed to his nose as if he actually wore the nose plug at the moment.

"He had this little nose plug, you should've seen him."

"And I went marching up to the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni, you know, those big foreheads?"

"Great big forehead!" Val emphasized.

"And I said, where's the pool? And he said..."

""The pool is abstract!" both husband and wife said together.

"It wasn't a real pool!" Val chuckled.

"It was a concept!" Biff said.

"And you wore a nose plug?" the Doctor asked, amused.

"I was like this!" Biff pinched his nose and spoke in a squeaky voice, "Mmm...where's the pool?" the rest of the passengers laughed.

 **150 KLIKS LATER...**

The Doctor, Minerva and Dee Dee were standing in the galley of the shuttle, the Doctor and Dee Dee holding their coffee cups.

"I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as a researcher," Dee Dee shrugged, "Just for the holidays. Well, I say researcher, most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience!"

"And did they ever find it?" Minerva questioned, a little bit hung up on yet another lost planet. Even if it was as insignificant as a small moon it was still lost and it meant people were affected by it.

"Find what?" Dee Dee asked.

"The Lost Moon of Poosh."

"Oh no, not yet," Dee Dee shook her head.

"Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery, one day. Here's to Poosh!" the Doctor lifted his cup of coffee up, Dee Dee following.

"Poosh!" the young student drank.

The Doctor offered his coffee to Minerva, recalling it was her preferred drink, "Some?"

She took the cup and drank a little, hissing when the warmness of it actually stung. It wasn't just the typical burn of a tongue, no. It felt actually painful throughout her entire body. She quickly handed the cup back to the Doctor and hurried away, wiping her mouth fast. She looked at her fingertips and frowned at the sight.

"Something wrong?" the Doctor startled her because he was right behind her.

She simply turned around and held up her hand to him. There were small bits of ice around the edges of her nails, "What does it mean, Doctor?" she whispered.

He chipped off the bits of ice, a little relaxed to see nothing re-forming anymore, "Process is speeding up, that's all," he sighed, "One step closer."

"But now it hurts to be _warm_ ," she sighed, "This process is speeding up faster than Zohar said it would. What does that mean for me? Will I have to go to the Monsoon now? Without you?"

He used her hands to pull her to their seats and sat down with her, "You are not going to be alone, Minerva."

"I'm getting colder and colder, and now this? Doctor it's inevitable," she couldn't help panic, "I'll have to spend my life on the Silver Monsoon until I can adapt...and I'd have to do it alone."

The Doctor shook his head and gripped her hand in his, "Minerva, listen to me carefully. I will stay with you on the Monsoon until you can withstand the heat."

Minerva's eyes watered up, "But what if it takes centuries for me to do that?"

"Then I will stay centuries with you until you can do that. We'll live on the Silver Monsoon together, okay?"

"But you love to travel, you can't live in one place," she sighed and tried taking her hand out of his.

"For you I can," he held on tight to her hand, needing her to understand that, "I will stay on that planet, leave the TARDIS in a room and live with you in an ice house, whatever it is you need. We'll live together," he offered a small smile, reaching with his free hand to rub away that pesky tear that managed to fall down Minerva's face, "Like a married couple."

"You'd do that for me?" she sniffled. The idea of the Doctor settling down in one place that wasn't the box of wonders couldn't form in her mind. She knew he hated all that, having a house with proper windows and doors. He hated living in the correct time order. He wasn't made for that. He loved the adventures each new place of the world had to offer and she...she couldn't make him give that up just for her. She'd be far too selfish.

"I'd do anything for my Clever Girl," was all the Doctor had to say on the matter.

"But that's too much. You can't do that to yourself. _I_ can't do that to you," Minerva shook her head, "You love being in the adventure...I-I can't ask you to leave what you love just to stay with me on some boring, snow planet."

The Doctor chuckled, "Okay, you're not getting this silly girl. What I love, is going to be staying on a planet for some time...that's _you_ ," he leaned against her forehead, "In the past, I had to watch you live on that planet for centuries while I traveled the world. And yes, it was fun to travel...but every time I came back to visit you I realized it was nothing if you weren't there with me. I will not go back to that, ever. I'd rather be on a planet, living in a house, with the love of my life, and hopefully my soon-to-be wife, because that is what would make me happy. Anywhere you are is where I want to be, simple as that."

Minerva let out a shaky breath followed by some tears, "I love you!" she sniffled.

"I love you too," he rubbed her tears away before pulling into her a hug.

~ 0 ~

 **209 KLIKS LATER**

The pair now sat with the blonde passenger that had refused to speak to anyone else on the shuttle, her name was Sky. They were having a nice lunch while conversing.

"We came to pick up our friend in the Leisure Palace," the Doctor explained to Sky, "She was supposed to stay for only a week, but..." he looked at Minerva beside.

Minerva had laughed, "We sort of lost track of time."

"She's been here for a month..."

Sky blinked, "Wow, and she's not angry?"

"Nah, she was probably in need of some time away from us," Minerva shrugged, "It was a nice month for us all."

"It's nice to have someone, isn't it?" Sky sighed, having noticed the immediate relationship between the two.

"Who are you here with?" the Doctor asked.

"No, it's just me."

"We've actually both done that too," Minerva looked at the Doctor, "I used to travel on my own and even sleep outside sometimes. It was okay, I learned lots of things because of it."

"I've done plenty of that too," the Doctor agreed, "But...it's not as great as it is now," he confessed as he stared at his Clever Girl, "I mean, yeah, you can go wherever you want and do what you want, but...you always need someone beside you."

Sky sighed in agreement, "I've found myself single rather recently and _not_ by choice."

"What happened?" Minerva softly asked, sensing it wasn't a 'what' but a 'who' that was responsible for Sky's sigh.

"Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?"

"Yeah, we had a friend a who went to a different universe," the Doctor munched on some peanuts.

Minerva looked to the other side, not going to correct him on that 'WE' part.

"Oh, what's this, chicken or beef?" Sky looked down at her lunch tray with a frown.

"I think it's both," Minerva quickly put herself on the distraction boat and lifted her fork up.

~ 0 ~

Professor Hobbes was showing his powerpoint slides to the other passengers of the history of the planet they were currently on, "So, this is Midnight, d'you see? Bombarded by the sun! Xtonic rays, raw galvanic radiation. Dee Dee, next slide!" Dee Dee switched to the next slide, "It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because you see... the history is fascinating, because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system, there couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no-one had come here in all eternity. No living thing."

"But how d'you know? I mean, if no-one can go outside..." Jethro remarked, earning the groans of his parents.

"Oh, his imagination! Here we go!" Vil rolled her eyes.

"He's not wrong though," Minerva looked back to them, "It's a question I'd ask too. If no one's been out on that planet who's to say that some creatures aren't roaming around?"

"Exactly!" the professor exclaimed, "We look upon this world through glass. Safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it."

The group heard a rattling sound from outside followed by the engines shutting down.

"We've stopped. Have we stopped?" Val looked around, feeling the shuttle completely still.

"Are we there?" Biff asked, confused.

"We can't be, it's too soon," Dee Dee shook her head.

"They don't stop, Crusader vehicles never stop," professor Hobbes said.

"If you could just... return to your seats, it's... just a small delay,"the Hostess quickly said as she went up to the intercom to speak with the drivers.

"Maybe just a pit stop," Biff offered.

"What's going on?" the Hostess talked lowly into the intercom.

"There's no pit to stop in, I've been on this expedition 14 times, they never stop!" professor Hobbes insisted.

"Well evidently, we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it," Sky snapped.

"We've broken down!" Jethro laughed.

"Thanks, Jethro," his mother rolled her eyes.

"In the middle of nowhere!"

"That's enough, now stop it!" Biff scolded.

"Everyone stop it!" Minerva shouted, but no one listened. She looked at the Doctor, irritated that everyone was jumping to conclusions.

"Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, we're just experiencing a short... delay, the driver needs to stabilize the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats..." the Hostess said just as the Doctor had stood up and walked for the driver's cabin, "No, I'm sorry sir, I... could you please..."

Minerva jumped from her seat and rushed beside him, "I'm coming," she declared. The Doctor opened his mouth to remark on that when she dug into his coat's pocket and pulled out the psychic paper, sweet grin for him before she looked at the hostess and showed up the paper, "There you go, engine experts! Two ticks!"

With a sigh, the Doctor opened the door and entered the cockpit with Minerva, ignoring the Hostess's hesitance the door was shut, "How'd you even know what pocket the psychic paper was in?" he whispered to Minerva.

She smirked, "I've learned with our time together," she rested a hand on his chest and winked.

"Sorry, if you could return to your seat, sir, ma'am..." the driver had looked back to them.

The Doctor cleared his throat and put on a polite smile, "Company insurance, let's see if we can get an early assessment. So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?"

"We're stabilizing the engine feeds, won't take long."

"Um, no, because that's the engine feed, that light there, and it's fine, and it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilizing doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry! I'm the Doctor, this is Minerva..."

"And he's very clever as you can see," Minerva playfully rolled her eyes, "So lying will be of no use to you. What's wrong?"

"We just stopped," Driver Joe sighed, seeing no point in lying anymore, "Look, all systems fine and everything's working, but we're not moving."

The Doctor checked the controls with the sonic, "Yeah you're right. No faults. And who are you?" he looked at the man that sat beside the driver.

"Claude, I'm the mechanic. Trainee."

"Very nice to meet you," Minerva smiled.

"I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed," Driver Joe said.

"How long till they get here?" the Doctor asked.

"About an hour."

Minerva bit her lip and leaned to the Doctor, "You know...professor Hobbes saying that no one's ever really seen anything outside...what's say we look outside?"

"Oh, I like that," he nodded fast and looked at the driver, "What do you say, driver Joe? Just... lift the screens a bit?"

"It's 100% Xtonic out there, we'd be vaporized."

"No, those windows are Finitoglass, they'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on! Live a little, besides..." he gently pushed Minerva forwards, "...can you really say no to that smile?"

On cue, Minerva flashed her signature sweet smile for them, "Please?"

Driver Joe sighed, "That's cheating you know," he gave in and reached to raise the shields.

"That's what I say all the time," the Doctor mumbled.

The shields were raised and lit up the entire place with a silver white glowing light.

"Ohhh, that is beautiful..." Minerva gawked, leaning forwards as she stared at the endless mountains and cliffs of shinning diamonds.

"Look at all those diamonds!" Claude exclaimed, "Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them."

"Joe, you said we took a detour?" the Doctor suddenly recalled.

"Just about 40 kliks to the west," driver Joe replied.

"Is that a recognized path?"

"No, it's a new one, the computer worked it out, on automatic."

"So you mean we're the first people to see this part?" Minerva asked, "Isn't that amazing?" she looked at the Doctor, "Once again, this is a perfect date."

The Doctor smiled and wound an arm around her waist which pulled her closer to his side, "We're the first in the whole recorded history to see this part of Midnight. I still got it," he nodded proudly, making Minerva roll her eyes.

"Did you just...? No, sorry, it's... nothing..." Claude leaned back on his chair, perplexed.

"What's wrong?" Minerva looked at him, "Did you just see something?"

"N-no, I...I couldn't have..."

"What did you see?" the Doctor asked seriously.

"Just there. That ridge. Like... like a shadow. Just, just for a second."

"What sort of shadow?"

An alarm sounded and so driver Joe immediately brought the shields down, "Xtonic rising! Shields down."

"Look, look, there it is, there it is, look, there!" Claude pointed just before the shields went down.

"Where?! What was it?" the Doctor exclaimed, all of them trying to see before the shields completely covered it.

"Like, just, something... shifting, something sort of... dark. Like it was...running."

"Running which way?" Minerva asked.

"Towards us..."

Unconsciously, Minerva leaned closer to the Doctor.

"Right, Doctor, ma'am, back to your seat and not a word, rescue's on its way," driver Joe gestured for them to go back, "If you could close the door, thank you."

The Doctor turned himself and Minerva back to the passenger cabin. He tried keeping calm for Minerva's sake, having sensed her fear of whatever was out there. He wasn't too thrilled to know that there was something out there that could possibly endanger him and Minerva. But he clung onto the hope that if there was something out there it was a benign creature.

Sky had awaited for the couple to return right beside the door, "What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it, what's wrong?"

'Oh, just stabilizing, happens all the time," the Doctor answered with a grin.

"I don't need this. I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary!"

"Back to your seats, thank you," the Hostess gestured for the trio to go back before going into the cockpit.

"Do you think it's something bad?" Minerva whispered to the Doctor as they took their seats.

"We'll be back to Donna in no time, you'll see," he assured her, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

Dee Dee tapped the Doctor's arm and leaned forwards, "Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?"

"Now, don't bother the man," professor Hobbes scolded her.

"My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilize, what does 'stabilize' mean?"

"Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out," the Doctor assured.

"So it's not the engines?"

"It's just a little pause, that's all."

"How much air have we got?" professor Hobbes suddenly asked.

"Oh dear, that won't end well," Minerva sighed.

"Professor, it's fine," Dee Dee tried to assure but the man wouldn't listen.

"What did he say?" Val called.

"Nothing!" Minerva shouted, trying her best not to get irritated.

She noticed her patience had been running low lately as well. But that wasn't from Kaeya's traits, no, that was the necklace at work. The darkness inside, while not taking over, was showing its presence in other ways. Her sourness, bitterness, rudeness even, arose from the necklace. She didn't like it but she couldn't take the necklace off just for those reasons. She could only explain to the people around her, the ones she trusted anyways, what the situation was and offer her apologies in advance. But these people? How could she explain that to them?

"Are we running out of air?" Val gasped.

"I was just speculating..." professor Hobbes said as the Hostess returned from the cockpit.

"Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?" Biff joined his wife in senseless paranoia.

"Is that what the Captain said?" Val asked the Hostess.

"If you could all just remain calm..."

"How much air have we got?"

"Mum, just stop it," Jethro shook his head.

"I assure you, everything is under control," the Hostess continued to say.

"Well, doesn't look like it to me!" Biff exclaimed.

"Well, he said it," Val pointed at the professor.

"... it's fine, the air is on a circular filter..." Dee Dee tries getting a word in but no one listened.

"... he started it..." Val repeated.

Everyone sated talking at once, making it really hard for Minerva to keep herself calm. She looked at the Doctor in silence, warning him that the necklace would only enforce those negative emotions on her.

"Everyone..." he quickly called to the others, "Shhh shhh shhh... QUIET!" he then ended up shouting, "Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee..."

"Oh! Um... it's just that... well, the air's on a circular filter so... we could stay breathing for ten years," Dee Dee finally said.

"So..." Minerva lifted herself up on her seat, "...shut up! We've spoken to the Captain, we can guarantee you, everything's fine."

But then there were two knocks on the shuttle's wall.

"What was that?" Val quickly looked around.

"It must be the metal. We're cooling down, it's just settling..." the professor said, though he didn't sound too sure.

"Rocks. Could be rocks falling," Dee Dee offered.

"What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here?" Biff demanded.

His answer was a double knock on another part of the shuttle.

"What is that?" Sky asked, her voice slightly tremor

"Is someone out there?" Val said.

"Now, don't be ridiculous!" the professor scolded.

"Like I said, it could be rocks," Dee Dee reminded, though now she didn't sound so sure either that was the case.

"We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides," the Hostess reminded much to their misfortune.

the two knocks repeated on the wall.

"Knock knock," the Doctor whispered, recognizing the pattern.

"Who is there?" Jethro called.

"Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?" Sky looked at everyone only receiving a double knock for an answer, "What the hell is making that noise?"

"I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic, that means it would destroy any living thing, in a split-second. It is impossible for someone to be outside," the professor explained.

"But professor, it's like you said, we don't really know that," Minerva reminded, feeling a little more capable of speaking without shouting.

The knocking continued.

"What the hell is that, then?!" Sky cried.

The Doctor stood up and walked to the wall, specifically where the last knock had come from. He used his stethoscope and placed it on the spot, intently listening.

"Sir! You really should get back to your seat," the Hostess called.

"Let him see," Minerva shushed her.

"Hello?" the Doctor asked.

The knocking re-appeared but from the fire exit at the rear of the shuttle.

"It's moving," Jethro remarked.

The door began rattling and Val gasped, "It's trying to open the door!" she cried.

"There is no 'it', there's nothing out there. Can't be," the professor once again had to input.

The door rattled for a second or two more then started going all around the shuttle, giving just two knocks from the roof to the side door.

"That's the entrance. Can it get in?" Val asked.

"No, that door's on two hundred weight of hydraulics," Dee Dee replied.

"Stop it. Don't encourage them," the professor scolded.

"She's not encouraging anything," Minerva snapped at him, "She's right, accept it."

Biff stood up from his seat and went to the door.

"Biff, don't," Val called.

"Mr Cane, better not..." the Doctor turned.

"Nah, it's cast iron, that door..." Biff knocked on the door three times and received the same amount of knocks from the other side.

"Three times! Did you hear that, it did it three times?!" Val exclaimed.

"It answered!" Jethro pointed.

"It did it three times!"

"All right, all right, all right, everyone, calm down," the Doctor tried, making his way back to Minerva.

"No, but it answered, it... answered, don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!" Sky cried right before there were three more knocks.

"I really must insist, you get back to your seats!" the Hostess motioned but no one listened.

"No! Don't just stand there telling us the rules! You're the hostess, you're supposed to do something!"

The Doctor went over to the door, much to Minerva's dismay, and knocked four times. He then received four knocks back just like the others.

"What is it, what the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me," Sky was beginning to lose it more than the others, "Stop it, make it stop, somebody make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me, it's not my fault, he started it with his stories..."

"Calm down," Minerva called, disliking the panic the woman was going into. She understood it wasn't something to take so lightly to know that there was a creature out there but the woman was panicking far too much.

"... and he made it worse..."

"You're not helping!" Val called.

"Shut up, neither are you!" Minerva snapped back, "Sky, please, it won't do you any good to react like this..."

"...why couldn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!" Sky shook her head.

"Sky, please..." Minerva stood up and moved over to her, trying to reach her but Sky kept swatting her hands away.

The knocking became a continuous theme which made Sky worsen. The woman stood out of her seat and backed away towards the cockpit door, Minerva following her, "It's coming for me, ohh it's coming for me, it's coming for me... It's coming for me! It's coming for me!" she screamed.

"Sky!" Minerva dropped to her knees in front of her.

"Minerva, come back here!" the Doctor started rushing for them when the entire shuttle rocked.

Everyone fell to the floor as the lights went out and several sparks flew out. They screamed as the shuttle moved about, groaning when it finally stopped and could finally feel their selves whole.

"Alright? Okay?" Biff looked at Val who was in his arms.

"Minerva!" the Doctor scrambled on the floor to get over to the Clever Girl. While Sky sat motionless in the midst of ruined seats, Minerva laid on the floor unconscious, colder than ever, "Clever Girl? Clever Girl wake up?" he scooped her into his arms and moved far away from Sky back to the others.

While he attended to Minerva, he missed Rose Tyler appearing on the screen behind him. She called out for him but the sound wasn't available and so slipped away, unnoticed.

Minerva woke up with a deep breath, her eyes a bright blue for a second as they roamed around the place, "Oh my god..." she blinked.

"You're okay?" the Doctor already had her checked over, just needed confirmation from her. Her eyes slowly faded back to their jade-green shade.

She nodded slowly and so he set her to his feet, "I...I _felt_ it..." she rubbed her head, "...oh my god, I felt that thing, that...whatever it is, I felt it inside my _head_."

"It's in her!?" Val gasped, already backing away.

"No, it left me..." Minerva sighed, "...but why?" she looked at the Doctor, "Why would it leave me?"

"I don't know but I'm thanking every god I know that it did," he hugged her tightly.

"We've got torches, everyone, take a torch, they're in the back of the seats," the professor said, he and Dee Dee looking for them.

Val turned to Jethro and tried hugging him, "Oh, Jethro, sweetheart, come here..."

"Never mind me, what about her?" Jethro pointed to Sky who still remained motionless.

"What happened to the seats?" Val asked.

"It was the thing," Minerva answered, turning to Sky, "It's not nice, that much I know."

"They've been ripped up," Biff breathed.

"It's a scavenger," Minerva said, feeling the Doctor's grip around her tighten up, "It's inside of her, I'm sure."

The Hostess hurried up to the intercom and tried getting through to the drivers, "Joe, Claude?"

"Doctor I could feel it inside of me," Minerva buried her face in his chest, "It was awful!"

"It's okay, it's okay, you'll be safe now, I promise," he rubbed her back soothingly. He'd like a word with that creature that dared touch his Clever Girl and possibly...end it.

"Driver Joe, can you hear me? I'm not getting any response, the intercom must be down," the Hostess opened the door of the cockpit and bright light blinded everyone then made them scream until the Hostess managed to close the door again.

"What happened? What was that?" Val asked.

"Is it the driver? Have we lost the driver?" Biff added.

"The cabin's gone," the Hostess breathed and turned to the rest.

"Don't be ridiculous. It can't be gone, how can it be gone?" the professor shook his head.

"Well, but you saw it!" Dee Dee exclaimed.

"There was nothing there, like it was ripped away."

"It was the thing," Minerva sighed, allowing the Doctor to bring her over to the front wall. He stared using the sonic on the wires.

"What's he doing?" Biff asked, eyeing the Doctor.

"That's better, bit of light, thank you. Molto bene!" the Doctor said.

"D'you know what you're doing?" Val raised an eyebrow.

"The cabin's gone, you'd better leave that wall alone," Biff called.

"The cabin can't be gone!" the professor insisted.

"Please stop," Minerva shook her head.

"It's safe, any rupture would automatically seal itself..." the Doctor removed the panel off the wall, "But something sliced it off. You're right. The cabin's gone."

"But if it gets separated..." Minerva looked at him sadly, "...Joe and Claude..."

"They've been reduced to dust. The driver and the mechanic. But they sent a distress signal. Help is on its way. They saved our lives! We're gonna get out of here, I promise. We're still alive, and they're gonna find us."

"And what do we do about her?" she whispered to him, nodding to 'Sky', "The thing is inside of her, remember?" the Doctor looked at her for a second then walked over to 'Sky', "Doctor, no, wait!" she tried grabbing his arm but he slipped swiftly and bent down in front of Sky.

"Alright, you, what are you?" the Doctor turned Sky around. The woman wore eyes like a wild animal, wide and...dangerous, "Sky?"

"Sky?" she repeated.

"Is she in there?"

"Is she in there?"

"Where's Sky?" Minerva swallowed, moving closer.

"Where's Sky?"

"You and I have a problem," the Doctor glared, "My name's the Doctor and I'm upset."

"You and I have a problem. My name's the Doctor and I'm upset."

"Can you stop that?" the Doctor frowned, as if taking over Minerva wasn't enough the thing was now copying.

"OK, can you stop?"

"I'd like you to stop."

"I'd like you to stop."

"Why's she doing that?" the professor asked.

Sky turned towards him, "Why's she doing that?"

"She's gone mad," Biff remarked.

"She's gone mad."

"Stop it!" Val exclaimed.

"Stop it."

"She can't!" Minerva snapped, growing irritated with how oblivious this group was, at least Val anyways.

"She can't!"

"Cos that's not Sky anymore, that's not the human we met."

"Cos that's not Sky anymore, that's not the human we met."

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny."

"All right, now stop it, this isn't funny."

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you," the Doctor shot them a look.

"Sh, sh, sh, all of you."

Jethro was more than amused unlike anyone else, "My name's Jethro!"

"My name's Jethro!"

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!" the Doctor snapped.

"Jethro, leave it, just shut up!"

"Why are you repeating?" the Doctor looked back at Sky.

"Why are you repeating?"

"What is that, learning?"

"What is that, learning?"

"Copying?"

"Copying?"

"Absorbing?"

"Absorbing?"

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..."

"The square root of pi is 1.77245385090551602729816748..."

"...3341. Wow!" the Doctor was...impressed. Regardless of what it'd done to Minerva, the thing was smart and if it was smart...that would be a problem.

"...3341. Wow!"

"You think it'll progress if we keep talking?" Minerva asked the Doctor.

"You think it'll progress if we keep talking?"

"Tell her to stop!" Val cried.

"Tell her to stop!"

"She's driving me mad."

"She's driving me mad."

"Just make her stop!"

"Just make her stop!"

Everyone started talking at once, Sky repeating every last word she heard, even copying their tone and rhythm.

"...stop her staring at me, shut her up..." Val nearly sniffled.

"...stop her staring at me, shut her up..."

"...a trick..." the Hostess was saying, staring endlessly at Sky.

"...a trick..."

"...that's impossible..." Dee Dee breathed.

"...that's impossible..."

"...I'm telling you, whatever your name is..." Biff began to threat.

"...I'm telling you, whatever your name is..."

"Stop it all of you!" Minerva shouted but it was a far too little cry in the midst of everyone talking.

"Stop it all of you!"

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?" the professor asked.

"...her eyes, what's wrong with her eyes?"

"...copy anything..." Jethro said.

"...copy anything..."

"...Biff don't just stand her, do something, make her stop..." Val shook Biff.

"...Biff don't just stand her, do something, make her stop..."

"...you're scaring my wife..."

"...you're scaring my wife..."

"...Mrs Silvestry..." the Hostess called.

"...Mrs Silvestry..."

"Six, six, six," Jehtro tested out.

"Six, six, six."

"...make her stop..."

"...make her stop..."

They stopped shouting when a high-pitched noise emerged and the lights turned back on.

"Well, at least we have light now," Minerva sighed, something a bit better in the midst of all it.

"Well! That's a bit better," Biff half-smiled.

"What about the rescue, how long's it gonna take?" Val asked.

"About 60 minutes, that's all," the Hostess answered.

Minerva dropped to her knees beside the Doctor when realization hit her, "Doctor..." she whispered. He nodded and motioned for her to get back up. He wanted her no where near this thing, "But-" he put a finger on her lips and nodded for her to join the others. With a frown, she stood up but refused to leave.

"Doctor..." Jethro made a call, having also realized it.

"We know," he replied.

Sky was now speaking simultaneously with professor Hobbes, "Doctor, now step back, I think you should leave her... Alone," the professor noticed what was going on and looked at Sky, "What's she doing?"

"How can she do that? She's talking with you..." and then Val realized what was speaking at the same time with her as well, "And with me! Oh, my God! Biff, what's she doing?"

"She's repeating... At exactly the same time," Jethro/Sky said.

"That's impossible," Dee Dee/Sky breathed.

"There's not even a delay," the professor/Sky observed.

"It's learning," Minerva/Sky declared, disliking it was gathering information in such a short time.

"I think you should all be very, very quiet, have you got that?" the Doctor/ Sky instructed. As much as he would like a word with that thing it could possibly endanger the others and that was something even Minerva wouldn't want.

"How's she doing it?" Val/Sky asked.

"Mrs Cane, please, be quiet," the Doctor/Sky repeated.

"But how can she do that? She's got my voice, she's got my words!"

"Sweetheart, be quiet, just... hush now. Hush. She's doing it to me!" Biff/Sky gasped.

"Can you all please just follow directions and be quiet?" Minerva/Sky sighed, "Please?" she looked down at the Doctor, "Do you think Sky is still inside?"

The Doctor looked into 'Sky's' eyes and crouched down in front of her, "Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say, how are you doing that?" he took a short pause, "Roast beef! Bananas! The Medusa Cascade. Bang! Kaeya Louvier Minerva Souza Rose Tyler Martha Jones Donna Noble TARDIS! Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes I am, thank you. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O...'' he stood up and faced Minerva, assuring her he was alright, "Alright, first she repeats. Then she catches up. What's the next stage?"

"I don't think we want to know," Minerva/Sky mumbled, taking his hands and pulling them away from Sky back to the passengers.

"Next stage of what?" Dee Dee/Sky asked.

"But that's not her, is it? That's not Mrs Silvestry any more," Jethro/Sky shook his head.

"I don't think so, no. I think... the more we talk, the more she learns. Now, I'm all for making people who hurt my Clever Girl pay but in this case I'd end up harming more and that..." the Doctor/Sky spoke, the Doctor looking at Minerva with a questioning look, "...wouldn't be okay, would it?"

She shook her head," No, dear," she/Sky said.

He took a breath, "Fine," he/Sky spat, "Let's just... move back. Come on. Come with me. Everyone, get back, all of you, as far as you can," he along with Minerva moved everyone into the galley.

"Doctor, make her stop," Val/Sky pleaded.

"Val!" Minerva/Sky gritted her teeth and motioned for Val to be quiet, "Sh!"

"Come to the back, stop looking at her, come on, Jethro, you too. Everyone, come on... 50 minutes. That's all we need. 50 minutes till the rescue arrives. And she's not exactly strong, look at her, all she's got is our voices," the Doctor/Sky reminded.

"I can't look at her. It's those eyes," Val/Sky said

""We must not look at goblin men." Dee Dee/Sky recited, making everyone look at her with confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Biff/Sky asked.

"It's a poem. Christina Rossetti," the Doctor/Sky replied.

"We must not look at goblin men,

We must not buy their fruits,

Who knows upon what soil they fed"

Their hungry, thirsty roots?" Dee Dee/ Sky recited again.

"That's not helping," Minerva/Sky sighed, was no one really going to listen?

"She's not a goblin, or a monster, she's just a very sick woman," the professor/Sky shook his head.

"Maybe that's why it chose her instead," Jethro/Sky offered.

"She didn't look sick nor acted sick," Minerva/Sky had to remark.

"There is no 'it'!" the professor/Sky exclaimed.

"Think about it though. That knocking, it went all the way round the bus until it found them two," Jethro/Sky said, Jethro nodding to Minerva, "But Sky was more afraid, out of all of us and...maybe that's what it needed. That's how it got in."

"For the last time! Nothing can live on the surface of Midnight," the professor/Sky insisted.

"Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe, but perhaps the universe has got ideas of its own, mmm?' the Doctor/Sky asked, irritated, "Now trust me, I've got previous! I think there might well be some... consciousness inside Mrs Silvestry, but maybe she's still in there. And it's our job to help her."

"Well, you can help her, I'm not going near," Biff/Sky warned.

"No, I've got to stay back. If she's copying us, maybe the final stage is becoming us. I don't want her becoming me, or things could get a lot worse," the Doctor/Sky shook his head.

"Oh, like you're so special," Val/Sky remarked.

"He is, thank you very much," Minerva/Sky snapped, "So now be quiet, stay back and just wait. We might be able to help that thing."

"But it nearly took you over!" Val/Sky reminded.

"Yeah, but if there's even a minimal chance that Sky is still in there, the real her, then we have to help don't you think?"

"We should throw her out," the Hostess/Sky suddenly said.

"I beg your pardon?" the professor/Sky turned to her.

"Can we do that?" Val/Sky considered it.

"Don't be ridiculous," the Doctor/Sky scolded.

"That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver, and the mechanic, and I don't think she's finished yet," the Hostess/Sky said.

"Are you listening to yourselves!?" Minerva/Sky exclaimed.

"She can't even move!" the Doctor/Sky reminded.

"Look at her, look at her eyes! She killed Joe, and she killed Claude, and we're next," the Hostess/Sky pointed.

"She's still doing it," Biff/Sky snarled as he walked towards Sky, "Just stop it! Stop talking! Stop it!"

"Biff, don't, sweetheart!" Val/Sky called after him.

"But she won't stop!" he walked back to the, "We can't throw her out though, we can't even open the doors."

"No one is getting thrown out!" the Doctor/Sky snapped.

"Yes, we can. Because there's an air pressure seal," Dee/Sky clarified, Dee Dee turning to the Hostess, "Like when you opened the cabin door, you weren't pulled out, you had a couple of seconds, because it takes the pressure-wall about six seconds to collapse. Well, six seconds exactly. That's enough time to throw someone out."

"Thanks, Dee Dee, just what we needed," the Doctor/Sky rolled his eyes.

"Would it kill her, outside?" Val/Sky asked.

"I don't know, but she's got a body now, it would certainly kill the physical form," Dee Dee/Sky answered.

"No one is killing anyone!" the Doctor/Sky exclaimed.

"What about Sky? Remember?" Minerva/Sky reminded, "She's done nothing wrong to you and you're about to kill her without waiting to see if she's still alive?"

"I wouldn't risk the cabin door twice, but we've got that one," the Hostess/Sky blatantly ignored Minerva and pointed to the fire exit, "All we need to do is grab hold of her and throw her out."

"Now, listen, all of you. That thing may need to be helped in some way," the Doctor/Sky considered his words.

Yes, he was a bit on the fence about the creature as well seeing as it tried to take his Clever Girl. But as Minerva said, there could be a possibility of saving Sky and he wasn't going to strip the woman of her chance of a rescue. His duty was to bring the creature into isolation where he could calmly think of the many alternatives to help.

"But is that what you'll all become just because you're afraid?" he/Sky continued, "Murderers? Because this is where you decide. You decide who you are. Could you actually murder her? Any of you? Really? Or are you better than that?"

Everyone looked at each other silently...

"I'd do it," the Hostess/Sky spoke up.

"So would I," Biff/Sky piped up.

"And me," Val/Sky joined.

"I think we should," Dee Dee/Sky agreed.

"Dee Dee," Minerva/Sky blinked, stunned.

"I want her out!" Dee Dee/Sky exclaimed.

"You can't say that!" the Doctor/Sky sighed.

"I'm sorry, but you said it yourself, Doctor, she is growing in strength."

"That's not what I said!"

"I want to go home. I'm sorry. I want to be safe."

"You'll be safe, any minute now, the rescue truck is on its way," the Doctor/Sky reminded.

"But what happens then, Doctor? If it takes that thing back to the Leisure Palace, if that thing reaches civilization, what if it spreads?" the Hostess/Sky asked.

"No, when we get back to the base, I'll be there to contain it," he/Sky assured.

"You haven't done much so far!" Val/Sky exclaimed.

"There's not much _to_ do at the moment. He's given instructions but none of you will shut your traps and actually _listen_!"

The rest of the group looked at each other with irritation at how they were being spoken to. The Doctor just sighed, knowing that was part of the necklace...and maybe Kaeya herself.

"She's dangerous. It's my job to see this vessel is safe, and we should get rid of her," the Hostess/Sky insisted.

"Now hang on, I think, perhaps we're all going a little bit too far," the professor/Sky said.

"At last! Thank you," the Doctor/Sky gratefully looked at the professor.

"Two people are dead!" the Hostess/Sky reminded.

"And you're going to add a third?" Minerva/Sky raised an eyebrow.

"Well I'm not killing anyone," Jethro/Sky declared.

"Thank you," the Doctor/Sky nodded.

"He's just a boy!" Val/Sky waved him off.

"What, so I don't get a vote?" Jethro/Sky snapped, indignant.

"There isn't a vote, it's not happening! Ever. If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first," the Doctor/Sky warned.

They all stared at him a second...

"OK," the Hostess/Sky shrugged.

"Fine by me," Biff/Sky agreed.

"You're all incredibly stupid if you think that's happening," Minerva/Sky glared.

"C'mon, you're being stupid, just think about it!" the Doctor/Sky remained calm despite the tensions growing, "Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door?"

"Calling me a coward?" Biff/Sky asked.

"Who put you in charge, anyway?" Val/Sky crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, but... you're a Doctor of what, exactly?" the professor/Sky joined in on the attack.

"He wasn't even booked in," the Hostess/Sky recalled, "The two of them...rest of you, tickets in advance. They just turned up out of the blue."

"Where from?" Val/Sky asked.

"Earth," Minerva/Sky replied, "But we travel. We're travelers that's all."

"Like an immigrant?"

"Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone, who was that?" the Hostess/Sky asked.

"Donna, our friend," the Doctor/Sky replied.

"And what were you saying to her?" Biff/Sky asked.

"He hasn't even told us his name," Val/Sky remarked.

"Thing is, Doctor, it is all a bit strange..." Jethro/Sky also joined.

"Oh, Jethro, not you," the Doctor/Sky sighed.

"No, but ever since all the trouble started, you mentioned you were upset with the thing for what it did to Minerva but then...you just stopped."

"Because we can't do anything," Minerva/Sky gestured to the motionless woman still speaking with them, "We don't want to kill because there's no need."

"But it has to be said that he does have a certain...glee," the professor/Sky remarked.

"We're passive when we can," Minerva/Sky insisted, looking at the Doctor with fear. They were beginning to doubt him and that wouldn't be good in the end.

"It's like you want it to keep getting stronger," Val/Sky theorized.

"No!" the Doctor/Sky frowned.

"And you were talking to her, just you two, before all the trouble, right at the front, you were talking to that Sky woman, the three of you together, I saw you," Biff/Sky recalled.

"We all did!" Val/Sky exclaimed.

"And you went into the cabin!" the Hostess/Sky said.

"What were you saying to her?" Biff/Sky demanded.

"We were just talking," Minerva/Sky shrugged.

"Saying what?"

"Wait a minute, he called us humans like you're not one of us!" Jethro/Sky pointed to the Doctor.

"He did! That's what he said!" Val/Sky nodded fast.

"And the wiring, he went into that panel and opened up the wiring," Dee Dee/Sky also reminded.

"That was after," the Doctor/Sky corrected.

"But how did you know what to do?" Biff/Sky demanded.

"Because I'm clever!" the Doctor/Sky blurted in a shout.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Minerva glanced at him with a face, those were probably not the right words he had wanted to say.

"I see. Well. That makes things clear," the professor/Sky nodded, offense evident in his tone.

"And what are we, then? Idiots?" Biff/Sky asked.

"That's not what he meant to say, he's an idiot," Minerva/Sky tried to say but they cut her off.

"If you're clever then what are we?" Dee Dee/Sky raised an eyebrow.

"You've been looking down on us from the moment we walked in," Val/Sky pointed.

"Even if he goes, he's practically volunteered," the Hostess/Sky said.

"You won't be doing any of that, I assure you," Minerva/Sky promised.

She felt confident for some reason...like she knew that if it came to that... _something_ would happen. She looked down at her right hand as she felt some icy pricking on her skin again. She lifted it up discreetly and saw chips of ice beginning again. She quickly rubbed them off her fingers and watched them fall to the floor.

"Look, just... Right, sorry, yes, hold on, just... I know, you're scared, and so am I, look at me, I am. But we have all got to calm down and cool off and think," the Doctor/Sky was saying.

"Perhaps you could tell us your name," the professor/Sky said.

"What does a name matter?" Minerva/Sky shrugged.

"Then tell us," the Hostess urged.

"John Smith," the Doctor/Sky said.

"Your _real_ name," the professor/Sky corrected.

"He's lying, look at his face," Biff/Sky nodded to the Doctor.

"His eyes are the same as hers," Val/Sky quickly said.

"Why won't you tell us?!" Jethro/Sky exclaimed.

"He's been lying to us, right from the start!" Val/Sky remarked, "Wouldn't be surprised if she was lying about her name too," she nodded to Minerva.

"No-one's called John Smith! Come off it!" Biff/Sky ordered.

"Now listen to me. Listen to me right now! Because you need me, all of you, if we're gonna get out of this, then you need me," the Doctor/Sky insisted.

"So you keep saying! You've been repeating yourself more than her," the professor nodded to Sky.

"If anyone's in charge, it should be the Professor, he's the expert!" Val said.

"Mum, stop, just look..." Jethro quietly instructed.

"You keep out of this, Jethro," Biff snapped.

"Look at her!"

"She's stopped..." Dee Dee mumbled.

They turned around to look at Sky who was still sitting motionless.

"When did she...?" the Doctor spoke, only to find that Sky still spoke with him, "No, she hasn't, she's still doing it."

"She looks the same to me... No, she's stopped! Look, I'm talking, and she's not!" Val exclaimed.

"What about me, is she...? Look! Look at that! She's not doing me, she's let me go!" Biff laughed.

"Mrs Silvestry?... " the Hostess tried, beaming with the results, "Nor me! Nothing!"

"What's she doing, Doctor?" Minerva asked, a bit relieved to see that Sky had left her as well.

"I have no idea..." the Doctor/Sky replied.

"Why is she only speaking with you?" she asked.

"Maybe she found something..." the Doctor/Sky said, looking at the blonde.

"She won't leave him alone!" Dee Dee pointed.

"D'you see?! I said so, she's with him," Val declared.

"They're together!" Biff agreed.

"No they're not," Minerva was getting really tired of these humans with their nonstop accusations.

"How d'you explain it, Doctor? If you're so clever," the professor nearly sneered.

"I don't know. Sky, stop it. I said stop it. Just stop it!" the Doctor shouted, walking closer to Sky.

"Doctor, don't," Minerva tried following him but he held a hand to stop her, "But-"

"Stay," he/Sky ordered. He crouched down before Sky, "Mrs Silvestry. I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech, what for? What d'you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? Because I'm the only one who can help? Ohh, I'd love that to be true...but you tried to hurt my Clever Girl, and now you have Mrs. Silvestry. Plus, your eyes, they're saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life, or form, or consciousness, or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone. And I'm willing to help you, but you can't hurt anyone else. What d'you think?"

"Do we have a deal?" Sky finished...first.

"Do we have a deal?" the Doctor said a couple seconds after.

Everyone looked at the pair, stunned.

"Hold on, did she...?" Dee Dee asked.

"She spoke first," Jethro blinked.

"Doctor?" Minerva tremulously called.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you," Sky began.

"Oh, look at that, I'm ahead of you," the Doctor spoke after.

"Did you see? She spoke before he did! Definitely!" the professor exclaimed.

"He's copying her," Jethro.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Minerva stepped forwards but felt Dee Dee's hand on her arm try to restrain her.

"I think it's moved," Sky answered.

"I think it's moved..." the Doctor said afterwards.

"I think it's letting me go."

"I think it's letting me go."

"What do you mean? Letting you go from what?" Minerva demanded, trying to push herself forwards but Dee Dee maintained her restrained.

"But he's repeating now, he's the one doing it! It's him!" Biff pointed.

"They're separating," Jethro agreed.

"Mrs Silvestry? Is that you?" the professor called.

"Yes, yes, it's me," Sky replied.

"Yes, yes, it's me," the poor Doctor repeated after.

"I'm coming back, listen."

"I'm coming back..."

"It's me!"

"...listen. It's me!"

Sky slowly started to move her head and hands while the Doctor remained motionless like she'd been.

"Like it's passed into the Doctor. It's transferred," Jethro guessed, "Whatever it is, it's gone inside him."

"No, that's not what happened," Dee Dee shook her head.

Minerva's eyes watered up, but not from fear, "The hell it's not right!" she snapped her arm from Dee Dee.

"But look at her-" Val tried to say.

"I don't give a damn what you're seeing you ignorant woman!" she shouted, making them all flinch, "That is _not_ what happened."

"Look at me, I can move..." Sky said, slowly moving her arms.

"Look at me..." the Doctor said, much slower now.

"I can feel again..."

"I can move... I can feel again..."

"I'm coming back to life..."

"I'm coming back to life..."

"And look at him, he can't move."

"And look at him, he can't move."

"Help me."

"Help me."

"Professor?" Sky looked at the man.

"Professor?"

"Get me away from him."

"Get me away from him."

"Please."

"Please."

The professor cautiously moved up and around the Doctor to take Sky's hand, leading her back to the others. Minerva glared deeply as she moved up and met the professor and Sky halfway. Minerva stepped forwards and...'Sky' stepped back, nearly _jumped_ back. Minerva raised an eyebrow at the action, "Look at that..." she moved up a full step and found that 'Sky' moved a full step back, "You're afraid of me?" Minerva narrowed her eyes, "Good," her eyes flashed blue for a second then pushed past the professor and nearly 'Sky' if the blonde hadn't jumped back to where the professor was. Minerva crouched down in front of the Doctor, "I'm gonna help you, you'll see. I'll save you this time," she promised him.

~ 0 ~

Donna laid on a comfy chair while her toes were being painted and shined. The blue light had been making circles up in the ceiling as usual when it froze. Donna tilted her head, "Oi? What's wrong?" she called up, ignoring the odd looks the employees gave her for it.

It didn't matter to Donna, though. Yes, it was strange to talk to a light but she thought of it as a friend. At first she thought it was a bit strange but soon she found the light did nothing except keep her company. Over the month she'd spent in the spa, the light had kept her company and even tried sustaining several conversations with it. Donna liked to think that it was Kaeya's incarnation's way of becoming friends with her so that when she and Minerva morphed together, nothing would change between them.

The light suddenly zoomed away, leaving Donna to holler after it for a moment. It'd never done that in the month it's been with her...what had happened?

~ 0 ~

"Ohh thank you," Sky was telling the other passengers, meanwhile Minerva continued to reside with the Doctor.

"Ohh thank you," the Doctor said.

Minerva could just tell by his eyes that he was trying to fight it, fight that thing and reclaim his voice. Even by the way he spoke it was clear that he wasn't the ultimate enemy here.

"They've completely separated," Jethro observed.

"It's in him, d'you see? I said it was him all the time," Biff shook his head.

"She's free! She's been saved!" Val exclaimed.

"Oh, it was so cold," Sky sighed. Minerva's head snapped up at the words and looked at Sky.

"Oh, it was so cold."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I couldn't breathe."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry."

"I must've scared you so much."

"I must've scared you so much."

Val moved to hug Sky, "No, no, it's all right, I've got you, ohh, there you are my love, it's gone, everything's all right now."

"Don't touch her," Minerva stood up and moved around the Doctor to face the passengers, her glare deepening as she looked at Sky, " _That's_ why you left me in the beginning. Ha, it's not because you chose it...it's because you _had_ to," the passengers stared at her in confusion, but Minerva just laughed, "Don't you get it?" she looked at them all, tapping her wrists, "My entire biology is based on the cold and while I'm not entirely there yet, my body knows just how to protect itself against... _parasites_ ," she spat the last word with narrowed eyes locked on Sky, "I'm part of one of the coldest species in this universe, something that thing over there can't take. It needed the heat...and I'm no longer a normal human."

"Don't listen to that nonsense, she's just a girl!" Biff snapped, earning a glare from her, "The only thing I see is that the Doctor is the problem now."

"It's inside his head," Sky fueled, smirking at Minerva.

"It's inside his head."

"No it's not!" Minerva exclaimed.

"It killed the driver," Sky continued.

"It killed the driver."

"And the mechanic."

"And the mechanic."

"And now it wants us."

"And now it wants us."

"He's waited so long."

"He's waited so long."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"In the dark. And the cold."

"And the diamonds."

"And the diamonds."

"Until you came."

"Until you came."

"Bodies so hot."

"Bodies so hot."

"With blood."

"With blood."

"And pain."

"And pain."

"Stop, oh, my God, make him stop, someone make him stop!" Val covered her ears.

"But _she's_ saying it!" Minerva nearly screamed at how oblivious this woman was, "Look at her!" she moved up and Sky stepped several steps back, "For God's sake she's moving _away_ from me! What does that tell you!?"

"That's your insane and you're scaring her!" Val snapped.

"Just let her talk..." the Hostess weakly said, realizing it was a bit suspicious to see that the Doctor wouldn't move away from the girl and yet Sky would.

"What do you know? Fat lot of good you've been!" Biff snarled.

"Just listen to her!"

"You're seeing it with your own eyes," Minerva insisted, gesturing to Sky who was behind the group now, "C'mon, how stupid can you get? She's afraid of me because I'm not just a human anymore and I'm not just some creature. I'm part of the coldest race in the universe and it can't survive inside of me. I'd be its death, actually. Besides, look at the clues, remember what the Doctor said? It repeats, it synchronizes, then it goes on to the next stage and that's exactly what the Doctor said would happen!"

"It _did_ happen," Dee Dee agreed, getting a small nod from Minerva of thanks.

"What, and you're on her side?" Biff turned to Dee Dee.

"No!"

"The voice is the thing!" Jethro exclaimed.

"And she's the voice! She stole it! Look at her! It's not possessing him, it's draining him!" Dee Dee pointed at Sky and the Doctor.

"She's got his voice..." the Hostess mumbled in agreement.

"But that's not true, because it can't, because I saw it pass into him, I saw it with my own eyes!" Val insisted.

"So did I!" Biff agreed.

"You're really going to ignore the obvious!?" Minerva gestured to her stepping up and then Sky's moving back.

"You keep scaring her!" Val shouted.

"Everyone saw it, everyone!" Biff continued.

"You didn't, you're just making it up! I know what I saw, and I saw her stealing his voice," Dee Dee spoke firmly, "Plus, she keeps moving back from Minerva? If it was truly the Doctor then wouldn't he want to get away from-"

"She's as bad as him, someone shut her up!" Val snapped.

"I think you should be quiet, Dee," the professor began.

"Well, I'm only saying..."

"And that's an order! You're making a fool of yourself! Pretending you're an expert in mechanics and hydraulics, when I can tell you, you are nothing more than average, at best! Now shut up!"

"No, _you_ shut up!" Minerva snapped, startling him, " _She_ should be the professor because professors would accept the reality and not deny what they're seeing before their eyes."

"That's how he does it," Sky said, a satisfied smile on her face.

"That's how he does it."

"He makes you fight."

"He makes you fight."

"Creeps into your head."

"Creeps into your head."

"And whispers."

"And whispers."

"Listen."

"Listen."

"Just listen."

"Just listen."

"That's him."

"That's him."

"Inside."

"Inside."

"Throw him out!" Biff ordered

"Get him out of my head!" Val cried.

"Yeah, we should throw him out!"

"No!" Minerva shouted.

"Well, don't just talk about it! Just, you're useless! Do something!" Val gestured for her husband to do what needed to be done.

"I will! You watch me! I'm gonna throw him out!" Biff started walking up but Minerva stood in his way, "Get out of my w-"

"NO!" she shouted.

"I said-"

"No, I will not! You're not going to throw him out! You need to throw _her_ out!" she pointed at Sky.

"What happened to rescuing Sky, hmm?" Val asked.

"This coming from the woman trying to kill my boyfriend!"

"Oh, get out of it!" Biff grabbed Minerva by the arms and pushed her back to the passengers, "Hold her!" he ordered. Val, and a hesitant Jethro, quickly held Minerva by each arm.

"Don't!" Minerva exclaimed, pulling on her restrains.

"Throw him out!" Sky said.

"Throw him out!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Get rid of him!"

"Now!"

"Now!"

Biff grabbed the Doctor by the arm and started dragging him to the door.

"No, stop, please!" Minerva cried, her tears streaming down her face.

"It'll be you next!" Val warned her.

"Don't think we should do this!" the Hostess said quietly.

"It was your idea! Professor, help me," Biff called.

"I can't... I - I'm not..."

"What sort of a man are you? Come on!"

"Throw him out!" Val ordered.

"Come on!" Biff called to the professor.

"Just do it, throw him out!" Val repeated.

"Help! Professor, help me!"

"Please don't," Minerva looked at the professor with pleading looks.

Guiltily, the professor walked up to Biff, hoping to avoid Minerva's crying face. He grabbed the Doctor's hand and earned a scold from Biff, "Not like that! Are you stupid?!"

"Cast him out!" Sky exclaimed, a smile still plastered on her face.

"Cast him out!"

"Into the sun!"

"Into the sun!"

"And the night!"

"And the night!"

"Come on! Don't just stand there! Do something say!" Biff yelled at the professor.

"Get him out!" Val shouted.

"Do it!" Sky ordered now.

"Do it!"

"Do it now!"

"Do it now!"

"Faster!"

"Faster!"

"Just do it!"

"That's the way!"

"That's the way!"

"ENOUGH!" Minerva elbowed Val then stomped on Jethro's foot.

Suddenly, the shuttle glowed a bright blue. Minerva looked up and saw the blue light emerging through the ceiling. She looked around frantically, knowing she wouldn't be able to take all of them, much less grown men. So...she did something else...

"Come into me! Come into me! Come into me!" she called to the light, "Please! Come into me!"

Without a second after, the blue light zoomed right for her...right _into_ her...

Minerva gasped loudly and deeply. She put a hand over her chest as she felt her air decrease rapidly and a cold begin to prick at every inch of her body. Her mind flashed new scenes she had never seen before, feelings that she hadn't felt yet…everything was just so new and yet…so familiar.

She stumbled on her feet for a couple seconds then looked at the men near the Doctor, "Get away!" she yelled, her voice overlapping with her first incarnation's voice, "NOW!" she thrust her hand towards them, making a great wind with chips of ice push them against the walls. She turned around to the others, her eyes blue as the ocean, "You..." she pointed at Sky, "...you _should_ be afraid..." she breathed in shakily, knowing there was only a small amount of time left for her before she either released the light or...died, "I'm sorry Sky..." her voice became scratchy, "...get out!" she used the wind with ice to push the button of the door and open it before thrusting Sky out through it.

As soon as Sky was out, the Doctor snapped his head up with a deep gasp. Minerva opened her mouth to gasp for air but instead the light swarmed out of it. She fell to the floor, convulsing for her needed air.

"It's gone, it's gone... It's gone, it's gone, it's gone... It's gone. It's gone... It's gone, it's gone, it's gone... It's gone, it's gone, it's gone..." the Doctor had also hit the floor pretty bad but managed to sit up with only a pant.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, cold, it's too cold..." sobbed Minerva, "...it hurts..."

The Doctor scrambled to her side and took her into his arms, "I've got you, I've got you, oh I'm so sorry," he kissed her forehead.

But she half-smiled and pulled him into a hug however she could, "It hurts less now," she sniffled.

The others looked around, now fully conscious of what they were about to do. They looked up and saw the blue light making circles above the ceiling, but they could almost swear it was hissing at them. It was hissing for nearly throwing out the love of her life and nearly making its second incarnation die as well.

~ 0 ~

 **20 MINUTES LATER...**

The Doctor and Minerva sat away from everyone else, the Doctor wanting no one to even direct a word to him and much less Minerva. He held Minerva in his arms, the brunette resting in a nap after everything. She had done an incredibly stupid thing in taking her true essence before she was ready. It tired her out, it stole air, and its cold still stung her. The process still had some way to go until she could take it all in. But he would make sure that she'd never try that again before she was ready.

 _"Repeat, Crusader 50, rescue vehicle coming alongside in three minutes, door-seals set to automatic. Prepare for boarding, repeat, prepare for boarding."_

"We're almost home, Clever Girl," he pressed a kiss to her forehead, holding her protectively as the shuttle started moving again.

~ 0 ~

"So that's where you went you little thing," Donna looked at the blue light beside her, "Went to help your incarnation and your love, how romantic..." but she shook her head, no place for jokes right now.

The Doctor and Minerva sat across her on a table, Minerva looking far better than she'd been described to Donna by the Doctor, "That thing needed the heat I could no longer supply," Minerva sighed.

"So what d'you think it was?" Donna asked.

"No idea," the Doctor shook his head.

"D'you think it's still out there?" but Donna didn't receive an answer, "Well, you'd better tell 'em. This lot."

"Yeah. They can build a Leisure Palace somewhere else. Let this planet keep on turning, round an Xtonic star. In silence."

"Can't imagine you, without a voice, though," Donna decided to try for another, small joke. She beamed when she received a small smile from the spaceman.

"Molto bene."

"Bolto bene," teased Donna.

"No, don't do that. Don't. Don't..." the Doctor said, making Minerva chuckle.

"I say she sounds adorable," Minerva praised. He just grabbed her hand and gripped it, really needing to feel she was fine. And by the looks of it, she was.

Perhaps the process had made some progress after all. The effects hadn't lasted too long. Still, it didn't mean he'd like for her to try that again. Zohar had been extra serious when she warned them everything in the process had to go according to its own pace. She definitely wouldn't be too happy when she learned what Minerva had done.

~ 0 ~

"All done?" Minerva looked up from her book as soon as her bedroom door had opened up and the Doctor stepped inside.

He'd brought she and Donna back into the TARDIS while he went and settled the matter of the creature with the Leisure Palace. And while Donna had gone straight to bed, claiming that a relaxed Donna was a much easier Donna to put to sleep, Minerva decided to wait for the Doctor until he returned. She didn't like sleeping alone anymore, too accustomed to the minty scent that was always right beside her each night.

The Doctor closed the door and walked towards the bed, "Say goodbye to Leisure Palace," he waved.

She set down her book on the night stand and waved fast, "Goodbye! Good thing we came for Donna when we did," she scooted to the foot of the bed where the Doctor had sat down, "You okay?" she stroked bits of his hair.

"Fine, I guess. But you?"

"Um," she sat on her legs and thought, "Well, I feel fine right now. Nothing out of the ordinary anymore, guess that's progress, huh?"

He nodded, "It is, actually. It's really good but...let's try not to use that anymore until you're ready, okay?" she nodded, "I don't want to find out what could happen if you stick with that light for too long."

"I promise I won't," she raised a hand, making him smile, "What?"

"You're acting like nothing happened today, still cheerful as ever," he reached to stroke her face.

"I don't like to remember bad things anymore. I like to focus on the part that we're here now," she took his hand from her face and reached for his other, "In my room..." she smiled as she pulled him further onto the bed and closer to her, "...with _me_ ," she pulled his face very close to hers, brushing her lips over his as she spoke, "Where we can kiss...and go to bed together," she said before actually kissing him.

"Mm, I like that," the Doctor mumbled, getting a stifled giggle from her as he pushed her down on the bed.

"I think I'm a fan of it too," she pulled away and just really looked at him for a moment.

"Now I have to say 'what' to you for the look," he said, "Meaning I can't kiss you..."

She smiled softly, "It's just...I love you."

"I love you too," he nodded.

"I _love_ you," she repeated with a new meaning in her voice, one even the Doctor knew was something different, "I remember it...I remember it so clearly now," she went on while he tilted his head and listened, "Our first kiss, our crushes, our dates...our love," her eyes met his with a blush, "All our kisses...and there were many."

"Minerva, what are you talking about?"

"I remember it all," Minerva let out a dreamy sigh.

"Minerva-"

Minerva pulled him down by his tie for a kiss, a new type of kiss the Doctor was actually...familiar to. He tried to pull away and question her about it but Minerva wouldn't budge. He knew any other man would never question why their girlfriend kissed them but there was just something inside him telling him this was important.

"Minerva," the Doctor took a breath as soon as he managed to end their kiss, "That...that kiss, it's..."

"Like we used to," she finished for him with a nod, "When the light went into me...I felt it. I felt all of Kaeya, my first incarnation, the body that I truly fell in love with you, I felt it and I _remembered_ it...and it was beautiful," she whispered, "I remembered what our first, true kiss felt like and then how those feelings progressed. It made me realize that what I feel for you now, was a massive continuation of those feelings. And if you made me fall in love with you for a second time, without my memories...it's because you were _meant_ to be my love. The love of _all_ of my lives. And upon remembering all that..." she rested her hands on his chest and bunched ups his jacket to pull him down again for another kiss.

The Doctor was prone to fall under her charms, especially with those kisses she gave. It was so familiar, made him think of their past kisses on the Monsoon, how lovely they were. Of course then he felt her loosening his tie as well as going for the buttons of his jacket and had to stop, "What are you...?" he was slightly out of breath and so couldn't finish the question.

"Look me in the eyes, Doctor," Minerva instructed, making sure to keep her gaze locked on his eyes, "Do you see fear like the last time?"

"No..." he had to conclude. Unlike the last time, her eyes weren't filled with fear and nervousness. She looked sure, _happy_ , and _in love_ , something that warmed his own hearts to see.

"All those centuries having to hear about your wife, your children...it broke my heart," Minerva bit her lip, "I thought it was selfish of me when I had thoughts that you were _mine_ , that _I_ was the wife, and the mother of your children, but I was in love and I couldn't help it. But fate was cruel and worked to bring us together, right now," she began smiling again, "Time has brought us together like it should've been. For centuries I've always wondered what it would be like to have a night all to ourselves, just the two of us," she tugged him down to gently kiss him, "Kissing," she tapped his lips afterwards, "Loving each other like we deserved to. Haven't you ever thought of what it could be like?"

"Well..." the Doctor stuttered as his hearts picked up their beatings, "...o-o-of course I have, yeah..."

"Then what's stopping us right now, hm?" she raised an eyebrow, her fingers dancing over the buttons of his jackets.

"Well..." his eyes drifted to the necklace around her neck, "...your mind, it's kind of jumbled up at times, and..." he sighed, "What if, tomorrow, when you wake up, you realize that this wasn't what you wanted?"

Without saying a word, Minerva reached behind her neck and unfastened the necklace, chucking it to the floor. She swayed her head a couple of seconds before she shook her head, "Nope, I feel just fine right now. Totally there in all the senses," she assured and got a laugh from the Doctor, "I'm completely sure what I want, Martian, _you_. Apart from all this, from who I am, who you are...this is just one woman proclaiming her love and desire for the man she loves. So," she used her elbows to prop herself up, swallowing hard, "What's your response?"

"My response?" he raised an eyebrow and thought, actually making her nervous. There wasn't much to think about, really...

Out of the no where, he started kissing her, making her fall back to the bed. Between their kiss, he could feel Minerva's smile which only served to make him create one of his own.

"No hurries, no pressure, just as long as we're together and happy we're good," she whispered, "Well, I'm happier _now_ ," she giggled.

"Oh quiet, it was a nice motto," he pouted.

"Yes, it was," she smirked, her hand going to undo the remaining buttons of his jacket's, "But I like this right now just a bit better."

He had to agree with a nod as he quickly kissed her again, his own fingers working their way down her blouse's buttons while he moved to kiss her neck. Minerva's arms draped around his neck as the new sensation of his kisses settled on her, the only thoughts in her mind being the memories of their past lives together and what laid ahead of them for the future.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! So, how about this chapter? I do apologize if something wasn't right, but this episode (while being so good to watch) is actually very tedious to write . But I do hope it all came out fine in the end (at least most of it). Apologies for the lack of updating again, crazy things happened that make me lag it *sigh. But yay, it's almost Halloween! What are you guys going to be? I'll be 10 lol, and my sister will be 11. Clash of the Doctors!

And eek! I just saw there's only like 9 chapters left of this story :D I know this has nothing to do with this but I just wanted to let you all know I've finished writing season 6 for Minerva's storyline! Hoorah! Now I'm onto unravel Clara's arc on my terms ;) Can't wait for the time to come and you can see it!

 _For Reviews:_

Wait till you see why River nicknamed that lol Glad to know you liked the last chapter, then! I was a bit nervous cos like you said, it gives a glimpse into the future, so...hopefully, when the time comes, you'll like that story arc :)

Tsk tsk, who will River be, that's the question! Could be those theories you mentioned or not, who knows ;) Thank you for your words, I'm happy that you liked it! I'm super excited for you guys to discover the mystery too lol

So...it's Halloween this Saturday...and, if you remember correctly...it's also someone's birthday (as far as we know at the moment)...a clever girl of some sort? I was thinking of leaving a one-shot for Halloween just to celebrate, be on the look out for it!

Until next time!


	19. The Women Who Died

There laid an intergalactic oriental marketplace in between a narrow, crowded alley. People bustled about with their products while the owners of the stalls tried garnering more and more customers. The Doctor and Minerva walked away from a stall, Minerva giggling while the Doctor sniffed his fingers and made a distasteful face, "Idiot," Minerva shook her head and continued to laugh.

Donna, only a few feet ahead of them, looked back with an open mouth, ready to call them over to a new stall. But when she saw the pair real close and laughing, she opted to leave them for a moment more. Donna had noticed how much closer the pair was during these last few months. The double-persona process was still an ongoing thing...and it seemed like Minerva only had a small time left before she had to reside in the Silver Monsoon. The Doctor had explained to Donna what was going to happen once Minerva left for the Monsoon. Donna knew that she, a human, wouldn't be able to stay with them for more than a couple weeks on that planet.

She'd have to go home.

She wasn't angry, though. No. How could she be? She understood completely that Minerva had to stay in the Silver Monsoon for her own safety, until she could adapt like the other Moontsays had. Secretly, Donna didn't mind going home anymore. After hearing from the Doctor that he would give up his trips to stay full-time with Minerva on the Monsoon, she wanted to give the two their own space. She didn't want to be the third wheel on a couple's home-life. The only thing she secretly hoped for was that the Doctor would pop that question to Minerva and live as a a married couple already! It actually made Donna laugh a little inside, the Doctor as a husband in a house? That would be a sight to see! ...maybe she could get Minerva to send her some pictures?

"I'm thirsty," Minerva said to the Doctor as they walked for Donna.

"Again?" he dug into his coat's pocket and pulled out a water bottle for her.

"Yeah, sorry," she took the water bottle and removed off the cap and drank a sizable amount of water.

The Doctor sighed, a bit sad. Minerva had been drinking a lot of more water lately. That was the beginning of the completion of the process. Moontsay's bodies carried a lot more water than humans did. It didn't make them stronger, it didn't make them weaker, it was just part of their biological anatomy. It was also needed for their water-based abilities and was perfectly normal. Still, for them, it meant they would be leaving for the Monsoon in a matter of months.

"Thank you," Minerva broke the Doctor's thoughts as she held the bottle for him, "God, did I mention I love your pockets? Bigger on the inside, genius!"

He smiled and put the bottle away, "Thank you."

"Careful there, don't be cocky," she linked arms with him and looked up at him, "Remember, I only love a little amount of it," he smirked, "I said a _little_."

"But you really meant a lot and completely."

"Martian, quiet now."

"Guys!" Donna hollered, motioning for them to come over. She stood in front of a stall holding some type of beverage with foam on the top, "I'm not trying this alone."

"If its liquid, hand it over," Minerva wiggled her fingers for her cup, "Still thirsty," she flashed a grin at the Doctor.

Donna handed the pair two cups and then held her own to them, "She promises we'll love it," she nodded to the stallholder, "One, two, three!"

They swigged and found each other with foamy mustaches on their upper lips. Minerva laughed and cleaned her mouth, "It's not bad."

"Yeah," Donna laughed alongside her as she placed her cup down.

They started browsing again when stall owner moved in front of them and blocked their way, "You want to buy Shukina?" they stopped and turned to the stall where odd types of fruit with long spikes awaited them, "Or Peshwami? Most beautiful Peshwami in all of Shan Shen."

Donna had moved a bit to the side from the pair and looked up at them, seeing them getting caught up in their own little moment again. She playfully rolled her eyes and walked away from the stall. She was trying to give them as much space alone as possible seeing these were literally their last trips together. Later on, she and Minerva could have a little girl's day before they had to part.

A fortune teller spotted the ginger from her seat in front of her tent. She stood up, "Tell your fortune, lady?" Donna turned, "Your future predicted, your life foretold."

"Ah, no thanks," Donna shook her head politely.

"Don't you want to know - if you're going to be happy?"

Donna smiled, "I'm happy right now, thanks."

Despite the semi-sad ending that was pending over her and her friends, she was happy. She was happy that she'd gotten to travel all throughout space and time. She was happy that she met the Doctor and Minerva, and through them Martha Jones, Stacey Donovan, Isadora Lozano and so on. She was happy because...she felt better. She didn't feel like the useless woman she thought herself to be in the beginning, before re-meeting the Doctor and Minerva. She felt confident in herself, she felt like she was finally understood because of those two. She was happy, she really was.

"You've got red hair," the fortune teller pointed, bringing Donna out of her thoughts, "Reading's free for red hair."

Donna laughed at the gimmick, "Alright, then."

The fortune teller stood aside and allowed Donna into the tent first. She looked around, in a rather sinister way, then quickly followed Donna inside. The two were quickly sat at opposite sides of a table with Donna's hand laid in the center of the table.

The fortune teller caressed Donna's palms as she began the reading, "You're fascinating. Oh no, but you're good. I can see... a man," Donna laughed, "The most remarkable man. A woman, too, just as remarkable as he is. How did you meet them?"

" _You're_ supposed to tell me," Donna shrugged.

"I see the future. Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"

"It's sort of complicated. I ended up in their spaceship on my wedding day."

Donna missed a clicking noise in the air, too focused on the reading.

"But what led you to that meeting?" the fortune teller's eyes narrowed a bit.

"All sorts of things..." Donna considered it more, "But my job, I suppose. It was on Earth... this planet called Earth, miles away. But I had this job as a temp. I was a secretary at this place called H.C. Clements," she gave a sudden lurch.

* * *

 _"H.C Clements," Donna answered a phone, sitting in her desk. After a moment she hung up and looked around, a tad confused._

* * *

Donna exhaled shakily, "Sorry," she blinked, having no idea what had happened.

"It's the incense. Just er - breathe deep," the fortune said, acting like nothing, "This job of yours - what choices led you there?"

"There was a choice... six months before. The agency offered me this contract with H.C. Clements. But there was this other job. My mum knew this man..."

"Your life could have gone one way or the other. What made you decide?"

"I just did."

Something was creeping up towards Donna, the ginger completely unaware.

"But when was the moment? When did you choose?" the fortune teller asked, nearly forcing her.

Donna thought about it, really thinking...

* * *

 _A younger Donna and her mother, Sylvia, were waiting inside their car at the junction._

 _"It won't take long, just turn right. We'll pop in and see Mr. Chowdry. Suzette can introduce you," Sylvia was saying, or nagging according to Donna._

 _"I'm going left," Donna was fed up with the nagging, "If you don't like it, get out and walk."_

 _"If you turn right, you'll have a career," Sylvia reminded, "Not just filling in."_

 _"You think I'm so useless," Donna rolled her eyes._

 _"I know why you want a job with H.C. Clements, lady - because you think you'll meet a man with lots of money and your whole life will change. Well, let me tell you, sweetheart: city executives don't need temps, except for practice."_

 _"Yeah. Well, they haven't met me," Donna turned left at the junction._

* * *

The fortune teller smiled, also sinister, "You turned left. But what if you turned right? What then?"

Donna suddenly became aware of the tighter grip the woman had on her hands and became suspicious, "Let go of my hands."

"What if it changes? What if you go right? What if you could still go right?"

The mysterious crawling creature latched onto Donna's back and suddenly she saw the moment she had turned left, "Stop it!" she cried as she felt something darted up on her back. She froze, "What's that!?" she whispered, "What's on my back?" the fortune teller didn't answer and only stared at her with a smirk, "What is it? What- what's on my back?" she felt the animal touch her shoulder.

"Make the choice again, Donna Noble, and change your mind. Turn _right_ ," the fortune teller viciously ordered.

Donna felt in a sort of trance, her shouts no longer a thing, "I'm turning..." she whispered.

"Turn right. Turn right," the fortune teller repeated as the creature on Donna's back reached her other shoulder, "Turn right."

* * *

 _"Let me tell you, sweetheart: city executives don't need temps, except for practice," Sylvia snapped._

 _"Yeah. S'pose you're right..." the younger Donna sighed and turned right, her mother smirking with triumph._

* * *

 **Year 2008**

Inside a pub at night a Christmas party was going on. There were decorations all around the rooms and people sang 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'. Donna elbowed her way through those people while carrying a tray of drink, "Get out of the way. Get out of the way!" she shouted and finally made it to her friend's table, "There we are! Feed at the trough."

"Mooky says let's go to the Boardwalk. It's two for the price of one," her friend, Veena smiled.

"Christmas Eve? It'll be heaving."

"Exactly! Get in and grab 'em," a second friend, Mooky, reached for one of the drinks.

"Hey, that's the second round of drinks you've bought. It was my turn!" Veena said to Donna as she took a drink too.

"I can afford it. Promotion. You are talking to Jival Chowdry's personal assistant, I'll have you know," Donna proudly announced, "Capital P, capital A, twenty-three-thousand pounds per annum, merci beaucoup!"

"Here's to Mr Chowdry!" Veena raised her drink.

"Mr Chowdry!" they exclaimed, except for a third friend who had remained quiet for some reason.

Donna noticed her, Alice, and clinked her glass with hers. Alice stared at Donna rather nervously, no one hearing a faint clicking sound.

"What's wrong, Alice?" Donna asked, "What is it?"

"Sorry?" Alice snapped out of her trance, still bewildered.

"Has someone spilled a drink on me?" Donna strained to see her shoulder, "Why do you keep looking at my shoulder? What's wrong?"

"I don't know..." Alice whispered with wide eyes.

"Oh, don't tell me you're getting all spooky again. It was bad enough when you saw the ghost of Earl Mountbatten at the Boat show. What are you looking at? What is it?"

"It's like... it's like there's something I can't see!"

Suddenly, a man called from the door, "Shut up, all of you! Come and see! Just look at the sky!" he made everyone stop their conversations and look at him, "It's a star! A Christmas star!"

"Well come on, then," Veena motioned for her friends to follow her out.

~ 0 ~

Donna and her friends crowded outside and looked up to the sky that harbored a large star.

"What the hell is that!?" Mooky exclaimed.

"Ken Livingston, that's what - spending our money on decorations," Veena huffed in irritation, "I mean, how much did that cost?"

"Don't be so stupid, it's flying! It's really flying!" Mooky said.

The group hurried around the corner to keep the large star in sight, "That's not a star. That's a web. It's heading east... the middle of the City," Donna breathed.

Behind her stood Alice who was completely ignoring the star and staring at Donna's back instead, as if trying to see something. Up above, the star-web came to a halt and started shooting beams of electricity down at the streets. Everyone save Donna and Alice screamed and tried running away to dodge the shooting.

"Alice!?" Donna suddenly shouted, aware that the woman was again staring at her back, "There's a great big web-star thing shooting at people, and you're looking at _me_?"

"There's something on your back," Alice's voice trembled. She ran away in horror, leaving Donna alone.

Donna, instead, ran towards the direction of the star, hearing Veena's voice calling after her, "Donna! Where are you going? You're going to get yourself killed! Donna!" but Mooky pulled her away and ran in the opposite direction.

Donna blatantly ignored them and kept her running.

~ 0 ~

An army tank came to a halt in the midst of the chaos, "Fire!" a soldier shouted. The tank and other strategically placed tanks shot at the web-star. It burst into flames and shatters.

Donna was able to reach up where a crowd was being pushed back by a soldier, "Everyone stay back. The Thames has been closed. Return to your homes. Keep away from the river - and that's an order."

Donna managed to sidle around some cars and heard a range of UNIT soldier-speaking over a walkie-talkie, "Trap 1 to Greyhound 15: what is your report? Over," a voice emerged through the walkie-talkie.

"From the evidence, I'd say he managed to stop the creature. Some sort of red spider. Blew up the base underneath the barrier, flooded the whole thing. Over," the UNIT soldier answered.

"And where is he now? Over."

"We found a body, sir. Over."

A body on a stretcher that was covered in a red blanket was being carried into an ambulance.

"Is it him? Over," the captain asked.

"I think so. He just didn't make it out in time," the UNIT soldier answered.

Donna saw an arm clothed in a pinstriped suit fell uselessly over the side of the stretcher, the hand dropping a sonic screwdriver onto the road.

"The Doctor is dead. Must have happened too fast for him to regenerate," the UNIT soldier explained.

"Escort the ambulance back to UNIT base," the Captain ordered.

The UNIT soldier nodded and gestured to the ambulance to go ahead and leave.

With nothing to do, Donna lightly sighed and walked away from the scene. A blonde woman was running from the opposite direction as Donna and stopped a few feet past Donna.

"What happened? What did they find!?" Rose Tyler questioned in a breathless manner. She turned to Donna, "Sorry, did they find them?"

"I don't know. Um, bloke called the Doctor or something," Donna crossed her arms.

"And Joy? Sorry, Minerva?"

Donna just looked at the blonde blankly, "Who?" she blinked.

It was clear Rose wasn't expecting that one and became even more panicked, "Okay, um, where's the Doctor?" she settled for in the meantime.

"They took them away. The Doctor was dead, I'm sorry," Rose blinked with wide eyes, "I'm sorry, did you know him?" Rose looked away, dismay and confusion etched on her face, "I mean...it could be anyone, really."

"What am I supposed to do...?" Rose whispered, "...I cam so far. None of this makes sense, are you sure they didn't mention someone else? Maybe you saw someone? She's kinda short," she mimicked a height, "Really long, brown hair?"

Donna shook her head, "No, I'm sorry. There was no one else. Maybe you could ask the police, though? There was a big flood, apparently, and maybe she just got lost."

Rose didn't seem like she was listening anymore, she was just too confused. But she still gave the ginger a look, only to end up looking over her shoulder when a she heard a faint clicking noise, "What's your name?" she suddenly questioned.

"Donna and you?"

"Oh, I was just... passing by. I shouldn't even be here, this is... wrong. It's wrong. This is so wrong. Sorry, what was it? Donna what?"

Donna noticed where the blonde's gaze was and stiffened, "Why do you keep looking at my back?"

"I'm not..." but Rose couldn't look her in the eyes.

Donna grew angrier, first she had to deal with Alice giving her that stupid look and now a stranger!? She didn't think so!

"Yes, you are. You keep looking behind me. You're doing it now!" she strained to see over her shoulder, "What is it? What's there? Has someone put something on my back?" she faltered and when she looked back she saw the blonde woman had disappeared. Donna frantically looked around but chose to walk away instead, feeling no necessity to stay any longer.

Above her, flew a blue and silver light silently.

~ 0 ~

"You can't sack me. I'm your personal assistant!" Donna stomped her foot on the floor.

She stood in front of her boss, just hearing that she would be _fired_? The nerve of the man! She had done such a good job and always kept everyone else on check. What could be the reason for her being 'let go'?

"You don't have to make a scene. Just come downstairs and we can have a little talk," Mr. Chowdry struggled to keep the ginger quiet.

"Oh, I'll make a scene, all right. Right in front of a tribunal - and the first thing I'm going to say is "wandering hands"!"

"Now, come on Donna - you know what it's been like for the past few months, ever since that Christmas thing! Half my contracts were on the other side of the river and the Thames is still closed off. Look, I can't deliver. I'm losing a fortune."

"Well, sack one of this lot! Sack Cliff! He just sits there! Don't know what he does all day - sorry Cliff - " she turned to Cliff suddenly and spoke firmly, "Actually, I'm not sorry - what _do_ you do all day?"

Before Cliff answered, the entire office shook as if there had been an explosion outside. Mr. Chowdry ran to the window, "What the hell?" the rest of the employees, except Donna who only shook her letter with an irritated sigh, ran up to the window, "It's like an earthquake!" a thunderous, black cloud appeared over a hospital a short distance away from their office, "That's weird! Funny sort of clouds."

"Who typed this? I'm your PA! Did you get someone else to type this?" Donna still shook her letter, unperturbed by the events outside, "Beatrice!" she shouted and turned to the woman.

A short while later would find Donna packing up her things in the office while the rest of the employees watched the television that was broadcasting on the missing hospital.

The headline over the reporter read '"ROYAL HOPE HOSPITAL VANISHES IN UPWARD RAIN MYSTERY".'

"It sounds impossible, but the entire hospital has vanished," the reporter was saying while a footage of the broken pipelines still emitting water in the empty crater where the hospital once stood, "The Royal Hope no longer exists. It's not been destroyed - there's no wreckage. It's simply gone. Reports from bystanders say that the rain lifted up around the hospital..."

Donna had half of her office supplies packed into a cardboard box, completely missing the TV, "Hole-punch - having that. Stapler - mine. Toy cactus - you can have that Beatrice, catch," she threw the toy cactus over to Beatrice, "Cliff - I'd leave you the mousemat, but I'm worried you'd cut yourself."

"All right, Donna, have some respect. There's two thousand people in the hospital and it's vanished," Mr. Chowdry angrily said to her.

"Oh, I'll show you vanishing. Thanks for nothing. Oh, and you know when that money went missing from the kitty? Anne-Marie. That's all I'm saying, Anne-Marie!" she shouted. The entire office shook with a rumbling sound and Donna sarcastically remarked, "Oh, don't tell me. The hospital's back. Well, isn't that wizard?" she kicked closed her drawer.

~ 0 ~

Donna sat in the living room of her house along with her granddad, Wilf, both watching the television that was broadcasting the news of the returned hospital. Sylvia, meanwhile, was rummaging through the box of supplies Donna had taken from the office.

 _"To confirm, the Royal Hope Hospital was returned to its original position, but with only one survivor. The only person left alive is medical student Oliver Morgenstern."_

Oliver Morgenstern was shown on the television wrapped in a shock blanket, "There were these creatures..." he swallowed, "Like... rhinos, talking rhinos, in- in- in black leather."

"Rhinos?" Donna made a face.

"Rhinos could be aliens," Wilf remarked.

"Shh," she waved him off.

"There were hundreds of them. We couldn't breathe. We were running out of air. A colleague of mine gave me the last oxygen tank. Martha. Martha Jones. And she- she died."

"At least you got a hole-punch. And a raffle ticket," Sylvia plucked out the ruffle ticket from the box.

"Yeah, well they can keep the raffle. I wouldn't take a penny off that man," Donna rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you two- there's aliens on the news. They took that hospital all the way to the moon and you're banging on about raffle tickets," Wilf scolded them.

"Don't be daft, Gramps. It wasn't the moon! It couldn't be," Donna shook her head, out right refusing to believe that silly notion. What would aliens, that were rhinos apparently, want with a hospital?

"Yes, well, I'm telling you - it's getting worse. These past few years, it's like, all of a sudden, they suddenly know all about us and... there's keen eyes up there and they're not friendly."

"This stapler says 'Bea'," Sylvia examined a stapler.

"Can't believe how well you're taking it, me getting sacked. Thought you'd hit the roof," Donna remarked, actually a bit surprised.

"I'm just tired, Donna, what with your father and everything. To be honest, I've given up on you," Sylvia sighed.

Donna kept quiet after that. She didn't need nor want to hear her mother once again lecture her on how useless she was. No one understood her, Donna thought. She wished she could have just someone, just one person that could empathize with her about the mother she was given. If only one person could understand that while she tried her hardest to be a somebody...things just never worked out for her.

"... This further report just in, from Oliver Morgenstern," the television snapped Donna out of her thoughts.

Oliver Morgenstern was shown once again on the television, "There was this woman who took control who said she- she knew what to do, said she could stop the MRI or something- Sarah Jane, her name was. Sarah Jane Smith.

"Sarah Jane Smith was a freelance investigative journalist formally of Metropolitan Magazine," the reporter went on to explain.

~ 0 ~

Donna walked alone in the dark night streets when she heard a buzz of electricity from an alleyway with a flash of light. Rose Tyler jerked forwards in a running manner, barely managing to stop before she hit the road.

"Blimey! Are you all right? What was that, fireworks or...?" Donna stopped, recognizing the blonde as the woman from the Christmas with the web-star.

"I dunno! I was just walking along and... that's weird," Rose looked around.

"You're the one. Christmas Eve - I met you in town."

"Donna, isn't it?"

"What was your name?"

Rose smiled evasively, "How are you doing? You're looking good..." but she heard that clicking sound again and fell prone to look over Donna's shoulder, "How've you been doing? What have you been up to?"

"You're doing it again," Donna frowned.

"What?"

"Looking behind me. People keep on doing that - looking at my back!"

"What sort of people?"

"People in the street. Strangers. I just catch them, sometimes, staring at me... like they're looking at something..." Donna watched how the blonde's gaze fell to her shoulders again, like she couldn't even control it, "And then I get home and look and there's nothing there," Donna swiped at her back, "See, look, now I'm doing it!"

"What are you doing for Christmas?" Rose asked, confusing Donna with the change of topics.

"What am I what!?" she half-shouted.

"Next Christmas. Any plans?"

Donna raised an eyebrow, seeing absolutely no relevance to what the woman was asking, "I don't know, that's ages away! Nothing much I suppose. Why?"

"Just... I think you should get out. You and your family, don't stay in London, just... leave the City."

"What for?"

"A nice hotel... Christmas break?"

"Can't afford it."

"Well, no, you've got that raffle ticket," Rose eagerly said, as if reminding her of that.

"How do you know about that?" Donna looked at her suspiciously.

"First prize... luxury weekend break," Rose offered a small smile, "Use it, Donna Noble."

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Donna coldly asked, receiving no answer, "I think you should leave me alone," she warned as she walked past Rose.

Rose simply let her go away and returned to the alleyway. She'd gotten the wrong universe _again_. Both the Doctor and Minerva were dead!

~ 0 ~

The Nobles parked in the driveway of a mansion house with a Christmas song playing on the radio. A couple of footmen awaited them by the doorway.

Wilf laughed, "Cor, blimey - that's what I call posh!" he seemed to be in the Christmas spirit already. He wore a pair of antlers on his head with small Christmas bells hanging at the tips, "I said you were lucky, didn't I? I always said, my lucky star!" he laughed again as he took out suitcases from the trunk of the car.

"For God's sake, don't tell them we won it in a raffle. Be classy," Sylvia spoke to them in a low voice...and then she saw the antlers, "Dad! Take those things off!"

"No, I shan't! It's Christmas," Wilf stopped one of the footmen from taking a bag from the trunk, "Oi, I'll have that one, thank you. It's got my liniment in it."

Donna and Sylvia strolled up the drive, "I reckon we deserve this. It's been a hell of a year," Donna sighed.

"Your dad would have loved this," Sylvia looked around.

"Yeah. He would've," Donna put her arm around her mother and walked inside together.

~ 0 ~

Wilf laid on the sofa with a blanket over him as he watched the television, Sylvia laid on the bed dressed in a silk nightdress and dressing gown gorging herself through a box of chocolates while Donna was in the bathroom getting herself ready for the day.

"Why can't you get it, Lady Muck?" Wilf looked back at Sylvia.

Sylvia began flicking through the channels, "It's Christmas Day - I never get up before ten," she nodded towards Donna, "Only, madam there was up with the dawn chorus, like when she was six years old."

"I'm not wasting a second of this place," Donna called, "How was the sofa?"

"Oh, yeah... not so good, really," he groaned and stood up, massaging his back, "You know, we could have paid for a second room. Oi!" he whistled to Donna, "Merry Christmas!"

Donna laughed and pointed back, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Dad," Sylvia grinned.

The knocking on the door continued and so Wilfred moved over to go and open up, "Yeah, all right, come in, my darling. Grub's up," he stepped aside and let the maid in with the breakfast tray, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, sir!" the maid replied with a Spanish accent.

"We have interrupted your program to bring you breaking news..." a television reporter stopped Sylvia from flipping through the channel.

"Have you seen this?" she called to the two.

"Because I thought, nice early breakfast and then we'll go for a walk. People always say at Christmas, "oh, we all went for a walk". I've always wanted to do that," Donna was rambling on as the maid set the tray of food down. She looked up to Donna that was brushing her hair and froze in fear, "So, walk first, presents later, yeah?"

"Donna, come and see..." Sylvia called, her eyes glued to the screen.

"Tienes algo en tu espalda," the maid pointed at Donna.

"What?" Donna looked back.

Sylvia urgently called for her again, "Donna, look at the telly."

"Tienes algo en tu espalda!" the maid exclaimed, just as urgent as Sylvia.

"What does that mean? I don't know what you're saying," Donna shook her head at the maid.

"Donna, look at the TV!"

The maid narrowed her eyes at Donna, fearful and suspicious, "Tienes algo en tu espalda!"

Donna now managed to see, out of the corner in her eye through the mirror, something black on her back that may be a spindly leg. The clicking sounded more like pincers of a beetle tapping together. The maid ran out of the room as fast as she could, unaware by the other Nobles as they were focused on the television.

"For God's sake, Donna, don't just stand there - come and look!" Sylvia shouted again.

Donna was still occupied trying to look over her shoulder again. She turned around and was able to see nothing through the mirror, her back was just her back...

She ran back to her mother and granddad and finally listened to the television reporter.

"It seems impossible, but this footage is live and genuine. The object is falling on Central London. Repeat: this is not a hoax. A replica of the Titanic has fallen out of the sky and it's heading for Buckingham Palace," a footage of the intergalactic Titanic ship was shown on the screen while the reporter continued, "We're getting this footage from the Guinevere range of satellites."

"Is that... a film or something?" Donna blinked.

"The Royal Air Force has declared anarchy-" but the Titanic crashed straight through the roof of the Palace and seconds later the television screen turned to white noise. A few seconds later, the hotel shook with a blast.

Sylvia tried to get the channel back, "It's gone dead. All of them."

Donna nervously smiled, trying her best to not believe it, "No, but the Titanic... well, don't be daft. Is that like a... sequel?"

Wilf had already gone to the window and was in revulsion at what he saw, "Oh... oh, God rest their souls."

~ 0 ~

The Nobles gathered outside the hotel with the other guests and staff to look at the large mushroom cloud that loomed over London, engulfing it completely.

"I was supposed to be out there selling papers. I should have been there, we all should. We'd be dead..." Wilf whispered.

"That's everyone," Sylvia was not understanding the idea that everyone she knew, everyone they all knew was dead, "But...no...every single person we know. The whole City."

"It can't be," Donna breathed.

"But it is, it's gone! London's gone!"

Wilf turned to Donna, "If you hadn't won that raffle..."

Donna's mouth fell open, happening to look up. She frowned when she saw a blue and silver light flying over them...it flew to the left which made Donna turn and see the maid from earlier pointing at her with narrowing eyes as if she were a demon or something. When Donna looked back up the light was no where to be seen. But that was weird, she could almost swear she'd heard...a hum of some kind...

...it had to be the people around gathering for the dead. Yeah.

~ 0 ~

Donna, Wilf, and Sylvia sat around a small desk and spoke to a housing officer. Donna wasn't too pleased with the outcome...

"Leeds? I'm not moving to Leeds!" she cried in horror.

"It's Leeds - or you can wait in the hostel for another three months," the officer spoke, unperturbed.

"All I want is a washing machine," Sylvia woefully mumbled.

"What about Glasgow? I heard there were jobs going in Glasgow," Donna insisted.

The officer became irritated with the resistance the ginger offered, "You can't pick and choose! We have the whole of Southern England flooded with radiation. Seven million people in need of relocation, and now France has closed its borders. So, it's Leeds - or nothing. Next!" she stamped the word 'LEEDS' on their papers and sent them off.

~ 0 ~

The Noble family stood in front of small terraced houses with their suitcases around them, listening to the soldier calling out family names.

"The Daniels Family, billetted at number 15. Mr & Mrs Obego, billetted at number 31. Miss Contrane, you're in number 8. The Noble family billeted at number 29."

"That's us. Come on, off we go. Oh. All right?" Wilf picked up his suit case and headed for the direction the soldier had pointed to.

As they walked for their new home, a woman with her arms crossed stood in the house next to theirs, thrashing them, "Used to be a nice little family in number 29. They missed one mortgage payment - just one - they got booted out. All for you lot."

The woman was no match for Donna Noble.

"Don't get all chippy with me, Vera Duckworth. Pop your clogs on and go and feed whippets."

"Sweetheart, come on. You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it," Wilf motioned for her to keep going.

"I can try," Donna mumbled.

They arrived at the number 29 house but found the doors closed.

"What happens? Do we get keys?" Sylvia asked.

"I don't know, do I?" Wilf reminded.

"Well, who do we ask? The soldiers?"

The door was opening with a very beaming Italian man, Rocco, who smacked the wall enthusiastically, "Hey-ey-ey! Is a big house! Room for all. Welcome! In you come."

"I thought this was our house," Donna frowned.

"Is many people's house! Is wonderful! In, in, in," Rocco ushered them inside into a narrow hallway, "We've been here for eight weeks already. Had a nice little paper shop in Shepherd's Bush - all gone now!" two little boys watched them from the stairs as they crowded inside the tiny hallway, "So, upstairs, we have Merchandani family, seven of them. Good family. Good kids," Rocco eyed one of the boys suddenly, "Except that one. You be careful of him," he burst into laughter and ruffled the boy's hair, "Ah, that's a joking! Where's that smile, eh? Rocco Colasanto. I'm here with my wife and her sister and her husband and their kids and her daughter's kids. We've got the front room. My mother, she's got the back room. She's old. You'll forgive. And this, this is you. This is your palace!" he showed the Noble's into a narrow kitchen with a curtain as a door and beds on the floor out of small mattresses.

"What do you mean, this is us?" Sylvia apprehensively asked.

"You live here!"

"We're living in the kitchen?" Donna raised an eyebrow.

"You got camp-beds. You got the cooker, you keep warm, you got the fridge, you keep cool. Is good!"

"What about the bathroom?" Sylvia asked.

"Nobody lives in the bathroom."

"No, I mean, is there a rota?"

"Is pot-luck! " Rocca laughed, "Is fun! I go wake Mamma. She likes new people," he pushed past them into the hallway, shouting for his mother, "Mamma! Is people! Nice people!"

The three Nobles looked around at their new 'home' with some despair.

"Oh, well. We'll settle in, won't we? Make do? Bit of wartime spirit, eh?" Wilfred heartily spoke.

" Yeah, but there isn't a war. There's no fight. It's just... this," Donna sighed.

"Well, America, they'll save us. It was on the news. They're going to send Great Britain fifty-billion quid in financial aid. God bless America!"

~ 0 ~

The entire inhabitants of number 29 crowded around the television, eating food out of tins.

"America is in crisis, with sixty million reported dead. Sixty million people have dissolved into fat. And the fat is walking," the reporter was saying, showing a footage of little blobs of fat with faces waddling down the streets, "People's fat has come to life and is walking through the streets. And there are spaceships. There are reports of spaceships over every major US city. The fat is flying. It's leaving..."

"Aliens," Wilfred said.

"Yeah," Donna sighed.

It was no surprise anymore. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore. Aliens nowadays came in to earth, did what they wanted, and then left them in an even bigger mess to try and clean up.

~ 0 ~

Donna and Sylvia were tucked up on their camp beds in the kitchen floor, the room lit with candles.

"Mary McGinty. Do you remember her?" Sylvia asked, pondering about the past, nice life they used to live.

"Who was she?" Donna asked.

"Worked in the news agent on a Sunday. Little woman. Black hair."

"Never really spoke to her."

"She'll be dead. Every day, I think of someone else. All dead."

"Maybe she went away for Christmas," Donna offered, knowing the hard depression that was hitting her mother would only grow if she believed all her friends were dead.

"Maybe..."

"I'll go out, tomorrow. I'll walk into town. There's got to be work. Everyone needs secretaries. As soon as I'm earning, we'll get a proper place. Just you wait, Mum."

"What if it never gets better?" Sylvia sighed.

"Course it will."

"Even the bees are disappearing. You don't see bumble-bees anymore..."

"They'll sort us out. The emergency government. They'll do something," Donna insisted.

"What if they don't?"

"Then... we'll complain."

"Who's going to listen to us? Refugees. We haven't even got a vote. We're just no-one, Dona. We don't exist," Sylvia turned to the other side.

Donna opened her mouth to remark when the singing voices of the other inhabitants carried over into the kitchen, "I am going to KILL that man!" she jumped to her feet and headed for the sitting room, "Now, listen, Mussolini, I am telling you for the last time, to _button it_. If I hear one more _Sea Shanty_..." Donna stopped when she saw Wilf sitting at the corner.

"I always loved a sing-song!" he exclaimed happily.

Donna just looked at him with an eyebrow raised...

And a couple minutes later, the entire household including Donna and Sylvia were singing together. Their songs didn't last very long when they heard the sound of a gunshot outside.

"Stay here, everyone stay," Rocco got up and headed for the door.

Outside, a soldier was shooting at the back of an army van in the area of the exhaust. The whole street was clouded with smoke.

"Hey-ey-ey! Firing at the car is not so good! You- you crazy or what?" Rocco shouted.

"It's this ATMOS thing, it won't stop! It's like gas, it's toxic," the soldier replied.

"Well, switch it off!" Wilf said.

"I have done, it's still going. It's every car. Every single ATMOS car, they've gone mad," the soldier turned to them, his eyes widening when he swore he saw something behind the ginger lady's back. He pointed his gun at Donna, "You, lady, turn around!"

Wilf and Rocco moved in front of Donna protectively.

"Are you crazy, boy?" Rocco shouted.

"Turn around!"

"Put the gun down!" Wilf exclaimed.

"Turn around! Turn around!"

"Do what he says! Turn around, now!" Sylvia urgently said to Donna.

"Turn around, now! Show me your back!"

Donna turned around with her hands in the air, allowing the soldier to see nothing on her back. The soldier lowered his weapon, his eyes still wide with terror and confusion, "Sorry... I thought I saw..."

"Call yourself a soldier? Pointing guns at innocent women?" Wilf angrily stormed up to the man.

Donna simply did not care anymore. She guessed what, like all the others, had probably seen. Around the corner, she noticed a blue light swarming up in the sky, lowering down where an even bigger blue light emerged along with the buzz of electricity.

Donna started walking for the lights, ignoring her mother's scared cries after her. She turned on the corner and saw Rose Tyler standing there...waiting for her by the looks of it, "Hello," she said.

"Hi," Rose said back.

~ 0 ~

Rose and Donna sat on a park bench together, Rose busy explaining the situation to Donna, "It's the ATMOS devices. We're lucky it's not so bad here, Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe... China, South Africa... they're getting choked by gas," Rose kept looking up at the sky as she spoke.

"Can't you stop it?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters... on board the Sontaran ship... any second now..."

The sky turned to fire for a brief moment and returned to normal.

Donna's mouth fell open at the sight, "And that was...?"

"That was the Torchwood team. Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones - they gave their lives. And Captain Jack Harkness has transported to the Sontaran home world. There's no-one left."

Donna noticed how tired the blonde sounded, so without hope for the world. She looked her over, realizing she still wore that blue jacket and the same jeans again, "You're always wearing the same clothes. Why won't you tell me your name?"

"None of this was meant to happen. There was a man. This... wonderful man, and he stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."

"That... Doctor?"

"Mhm, and this other woman, I guess she had to help too. You knew them, you know."

"Did I? When?" Donna tilted her head.

"I think you dream about him, sometimes. It's a man in a suit? A tall, thin man, great hair," Rose looked out ahead, nothing in particular as she remembered, "Some... really great hair."

Donna noticed how Rose kept describing only that Doctor man. She still hadn't even mentioned the other woman's _name_!

"Who are you?" Donna asked.

But Rose ignored her and looked back at the ginger, "I was like you. I used to be you. You've traveled with him, Donna. You've traveled with the Doctor in a different world."

Before Donna could say anything, she saw that smaller blue and silver light again in the sky, "What is that?" she pointed suddenly, making Rose look up, "It's been following me, I swear."

Rose shrugged, a bit concerned about it. She hadn't noticed it, actually, 'I...don't know."

"Is it alien? Is it going to harm someone too? Get rid of it!" Donna exclaimed, not about to go through another alien attack, not when apparently a woman beside her could stop it.

The light slowly came down, growing in size as it reached the ground, even blinding Donna and Rose for a moment where they had to shield their eyes. The light start vanishing upwards, revealing crystal shoes on the floor with feet inside, legs covered by a silver gown.

Donna and Rose found a woman standing a few feet away from them. While Rose stared in confusion, Donna had tilted her head like she was _studying_ the woman.

"Who are you?" Rose asked at the same moment Donna had whispered, "Kaeya."

Rose looked at Donna with even further confusion, "You know her?" she asked the ginger.

Donna blinked, snapping out of her short trance, "Um...uh, I suppose..." she looked at the woman.

She had short, curly ashy-brunette hair with icy blue eyes. Her skin was rather pale but still had a nice glow to her.

"C'mon Donna, you know," the brunette said, half-smiling, "Or...did know me...in another world, like Miss...over here said."

"You know me?" Rose raised an eyebrow, sensing the woman was about to speak her name.

"Oh, that's right, forgive me," Kaeya put a hand over her chest, "You knew me in my second incarnation, human version," she threw her head back and opened her arms. A blue and silver light took over again and when it disappeared, Rose knew _exactly_ who that was.

"Joy...Minerva..." Rose breathed.

Minerva Souza now stood in front of the two women with a small smile, "Yes, sorry. I forgot. It was this form in which you yelled at me and blamed me for your mother's misfortune, apart from being this form in which you showed your nastiest jealousy. Yes, this is me."

Donna raised an eyebrow and looked at Rose, sensing the bitter lash from 'Kaeya' was over a man...

Rose, instead of snapping right back, looked down, completely accepting her fault.

"I'm not here to reproach anything from you. I mean, look at me," 'Minerva' gestured to herself, "I'm dead," she quietly said.

"How do you mean you're dead?" Donna asked, curious.

"I was the second woman that traveled with the Doctor, along with her," she nodded to Rose, "But because time has been rewritten...I died before I even met him."

"He did come, though," Rose spoke up, sounding rather nervous as the woman looked at her silently, "I, um...I ended up in the past in one of my jumps and I saw it. The Auton got you just a moment before the Doctor came by."

"Well of course he came, he always came," 'Minerva' declared with certainty.

"But I don't get it," Donna cut in and looked between both woman, "If she's dead then how is she here?"

"Without the Doctor I die one more time and a final time," 'Minerva' opened her arms again and allowed the light to take over her body once more to revert back to the ashy-brunette with short hair, "No regeneration possible. Only my people, my true people, don't really die. When buried properly, we believe our souls will rise once again to look after the ones we love. Back on the Monsoon, where I was born, before the war, there used to be a place, a sacred place, where all the souls of our ancestors could rest in peace. They were dead but we could still see them," Kaeya raised her arms to gesture to herself, "Of course, this is another dimension where basically anything goes, so..." and she shrugged, "...in this world, I rose to look after my loved ones, but who am I supposed to look after? My grandfather is bitter and alone, always safe nonetheless. The love of my life is dead, my other people don't need me, my best friend died, so I only have my ginger sister," she looked at Donna with a soft smile, "I dedicate my eternal life to looking after you."

"Fat lot of good that's been," Donna said casually, not trying to be mean or anything.

Kaeya laughed, "Sorry, I'm a spirit. Can't do much, especially in this world," she looked around, "This is the wrong world we're in. I'm not even supposed to be able to do this, appear in physical form," she looked down at herself then to Rose, "You need to get her to the proper world again."

But Rose was still staring at the now Kaeya woman, 'How are you doing that?"

"It's not up to me to explain that," Kaeya shrugged, "Focus on your task. Our moment to talk will come, that I promise."

"How do you know me, though?" Donna asked, "Both of you...?"

"I was there when you met the Doctor," Kaeya began, "I was Minerva, the brunette human, sassy apparently...but the Doctor died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve. In another world I was there, with you, and we helped him get out. But I died earlier and you weren't there...so... he didn't have anyone when he needed it the most."

"Stop it. I don't know what you're talking about, leave me alone!" Donna shot right out of her seat and took steps away form both women, "I don't have a sister."

"You once did, the empathizer? That was me," Kaeya continued, remaining where she was as Rose stood up, "I understood you completely when it came to your mother...cos my human mother wasn't that good either. But right now, Donna, right now you need to listen to this woman," she looked at Rose, signaling her with a nod it was her turn to speak.

Through her mild confusion, Rose nodded back and looked at Donna, "Something's coming, Donna. Something worse.''

But Donna wasn't having it. Those two had to be oblivious if they didn't see just how the world already was, "If you haven't gotten the memo yet, the whole world is stinking. How can anything be worse than this?"

"Trust me. We need the Doctor more than ever. I've..." Rose swallowed hard, putting a hand to her heart, Donna turning around to see the notion, "I've been pulled across from a different universe, because every single universe is in danger. It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."

"What is!?" Donna nearly cried of frustration.

"The darkness."

"Well, what do you keep telling _me_ for? What am I supposed to do? I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm- I'm not- I'm nothing special, I'm a temp. I'm not even that, I'm _nothing_ ," Donna spat angrily.

Kaeya immediately looked at Donna, still remaining where she was but looking at Donna with a serious look, her tone matching, "Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation."

Donna just gave a short, mirthless laugh, " Oh, don't. Just..." she shook her head, her laugh all gone with no traces of even a small smile, "Don't. I'm tired. I'm so... tired," she turned to leave again.

"I need you to come with me," Rose said.

"Yeah. Well. Blonde hair might work on the men, but you ain't shifting me, lady," Donna derisively laughed.

Both Rose and Kaeya smiled at that, "That's the Donna I liked to hear," Kaeya remarked.

"I've got plenty more."

"I know you'll come with me. Only when you want to," Rose nodded.

Donna continued walking away, "You'll have a long wait, then."

"Not really, just three weeks. Tell me, does your grandfather still own that telescope?"

Donna froze and turned back, "He never lets go of it..." she eyed Rose suspiciously.

"Three weeks time. But you've got to be certain. Because, when you come with me, Donna... sorry... so sorry, but... you're going to die."

Donna stared at her, Kaeya looking a bit mad at those words while she looked at Rose. Rose simply faded away before their eyes, leaving Kaeya with Donna.

Kaeya turned to Donna, "I may be dead, and I may be a spirit, but under my guard you shall _not_ die. No matter what the woman says," she spoke bitterly then reverted back into that blue and silver light.

Donna slowly turned away, not sure what to make of all that...

~ 0 ~

Rocco hugged Donna in farewell, spinning her around and both laughing, "And you! I'm going to miss you most of all, all flame-haired and firey."

"Oh, but why do you have to go?" Donna asked as they pulled away.

"It's the new law! England for the English, et cetera," behind Donna, Wilf closed his eyes in silence, "They can't send us home, the oceans are closed! They build labor camps."

"I know, but... labor doing what? There aren't any jobs," Donna said, still confused.

"Sewing! Digging! Is good!" Rocco kissed her cheek, "Now, stop it before I kiss you too much," he kissed her other cheek and faced Wilf, "Wilfred. My Captain."

Both men saluted to each other. Donna didn't notice how the spark and twinkle from Rocco's eyes were gone and her granddad was nearly to tears. Rocco nodded and headed to the other foreigners on the van.

"It'll be quiet with him gone. Still, we'll have more room," Donna sighed.

"'Labor camps'. That's what they called them last time," Wilf breathed.

"What do you mean?" Donna looked at Rocco and his family on the back of the van, noticing how terrified they were for some reason, Rocco's wife was even crying!

"It's happening again," Wilfred said.

"What is?" she looked between him and the van, still confused. Firmly, she approached the soldiers, "Excuse me? Excuse me, where are you taking them?" she ran after the van, "Where are you going? Rocco, where are you going? Where are you going?" the van made a turn around the corner, forcing Donna to stop there, but not her shouts, "Where are you going?"

~ 0 ~

Donna entered number 29 where Sylvia sat with her back to her, lost in thought. Donna knew that her mother had inevitably fallen into that depression she worried over...and there was nothing that helped.

"I asked about jobs, with the army. They said I wasn't qualified," Donna began, hoping for even a small nag as an answer. She never knew how much she could actually miss a simple nag from her mother, "You were right. You said I should have worked harder at school. I suppose I've always been a disappointment."

"Yeah..." Sylvia lightly said.

Donna paused a moment before leaving.

~ 0 ~

Wilf and Donna were bundled up in their winter coats around a small fire in a bucket. Donna had her head resting on Wilf's shoulder while staring out in the sky. Wilfred sipped a cup of tea while looking at his telescope, "You know, we'd get a bit of cash if we sold this thing."

"Don't you dare!" Donna quickly warned then sighed, "I always imagined, your old age... I'd have put a bit of money by, make you comfy. Never did. I'm just useless."

She awaited for some type of remark, usually the scolding from her negativity. But instead, Wilf was looking through the eyepiece of his telescope.

"You're supposed to say "no, you're not"!" she frowned.

"Ah, it must be the alignment," he mumbled, not listening to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I don't know - I mean, it can't be the lens. I was looking at Orion, the constellation of Orion- you take a look," he shifted and let Donna look through the eyepiece, "And tell me, what can you see?"

"Where?"

"Well, up there in the sky!"

"Well, I can't see anything, it's just... black."

"Well, I mean it's working! The telescope is working," Wilf huffed in annoyance.

"Well... maybe it's the clouds," Donna offered.

"There's no clouds!"

"Well, there must be!"

"There's not! It was there," Wilf pointed to a specific part of the sky, "An entire constellation," suddenly, they noticed the stars begin to blink as if they were being turned off, "Look... look there...they're going out. Oh, my God, Donna! The stars are going out."

Constellations were disappearing right before their eyes.

Donna was concerned but not surprised. She knew exactly what needed to be done and so she turned around, seeing Rose Tyler standing across, "I'm ready."

~ 0 ~

Rose led Donna through an enormous warehouse where there stood a circle of mirrors with lights at intervals between them. The TARDIS stood a short distance away from the circle and was linked to it by several wires.

"Ma'am," Captain Magambo saluted Rose.

"I've told you, don't salute," Rose said, irritated, as she tampered with the computer.

"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name..."

"What, you don't know either?" Donna asked.

"There's too many different realities. Trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire causal nexus."

"What? But what about that other woman, Kaeya. She gave her name, remember?"

"Yeah, but she's _dead_. And besides, she's not important for this mission anyways."

Donna raised an eyebrow, that sounded a bit...harsh. After all, Kaeya was dead and the dead were always meant to be respected.

"There was another woman, now?" Captain Magambo asked Rose.

"Yes, but like I said, she's dead," Rose tried waving her off.

"But she knew the Doctor too..." Donna reminded.

"But she's dead!" Rose exclaimed, half-shouting at them both, "She died, alright? I didn't show up in time to save her and now she's haunting me or something...can we please just leave the subject _alone_?"

"I'm sorry," was all Donna had to say and quickly looked away.

Yes, she knew Minerva had survived thanks to Donna and because the Doctor had never met Donna there was no future Donna to save Minerva...and Rose felt guilty over it. If she had gotten there just a minute earlier perhaps she could've saved Minerva and ensured the Doctor's life. But in the end, maybe there was no point in saving Minerva. Sure, maybe se could've helped meet Donna but what if it hadn't been like that? Both of them could have still been dead. So why did Rose still feel so guilty? Perhaps it was because she knew now Minerva's past thanks to Mickey and words could not describe how awful she felt after knowing everything. Now that information loomed over her head every time she thought of Minerva's death. Seeing her ghost form or whatever it was, only served to remind her of her failure.

"Let's just move on..." Rose whispered before she broke into tears, "This is Donna Noble," she gestured to the ginger for Captain Magambo.

"Captain Erisa Magambo. Thank you for this," the captain shook hands with Donna.

"I don't even know what I'm doing," Donna admitted.

"Is it awake?" Rose asked the captain once she finished up with the computer.

"It seems to be quiet today. Ticking over. Like it's waiting."

Rose crossed her arms and watched the TARDIS for a moment then looked at Donna, "Do you want to see it?"

"What's a police box?"

"They salvaged it from underneath the Thames. Just go inside."

"What for?"

"Just go in!"

Donna sighed and walked for the blue box, confused on what a little box was supposed to do. She looked back at Rose with a confused look then stepped inside the box...

Rose smiled when she heard Donna's loud gasp.

"No way," Donna laughed incredulously from inside the box. She returned and did a walk around the TARDIS just to see if this was actually real. She moved back to the front of the TARDIS and looked at Rose.

"What do you think?" the blonde asked with a grin.

"... can I have a coffee?"

~ 0 ~

Rose and Donna walked around the TARDIS rota, Donna clutching a warm cup of coffee in her arms. Wires were spilling out all over the console, making Donna a bit edgy.

"Time And Relative Dimension In Space. This room used to shine with light," Rose gazed up at the rota, "I think it's dying..."

There came a small hum followed by a familiar voice, " _She_ is dying," Kaeya corrected, standing outside the doors of the box. She leaned inside then put her hands on either side of the door hinges and carefully stepped inside, her crystal shoes making a clank as they stepped inside, "Hello old friend," she shakily greeted.

Rose watched with a bit of surprise as the rota gave a small response with half a rise, more than it's ever given her!

"Wow it's been...really long since I've been in here," Kaeya slowly walked around, "Although back in my day, and take in consideration I am _much_ older than I appear, this old girl used be completely different. All silver and whatnot.." she lightly chuckled, "But always with those coral decorations," she pointed to the wall.

"I still don't understand," Rose declared, not demanding or angry just...remarking.

Kaeya looked at her with a knowing smile but did not say anything. Instead, she walked for the console and reached for the rotor, "Hello, nearly dying and still trying to help? Where have I heard that one before?" she ran a hand through the controls.

"This thing..." Donna began, watching the woman.

"She," Kaeya corrected, looking up with a small smile, "She hates it when she's called an 'it' or a 'thing'. She's a she."

"Okay, _she_ belonged to the Doctor?" Donna looked between Kaeya and Rose.

"He was a Time Lord. Last of his kind," Rose stared at Kaeya as she made a round around the console, feeling so uneasy with how familiar the woman seemed to be with the box. By what she gathered, she and Minerva were the same people and yes, Minerva probably was familiar with the TARDIS in a way but...how come when this woman remarked about the box it seemed like...like there was something _more_?

"But if he's so special, what's he doing with me?" Donna frowned.

Kaeya looked up from the console again, simply saying, "Cos he believed you were brilliant."

"Don't be stupid."

"Oi, I'm dead, be nice," Kaeya pointed in a playful, warning manner, "The Doctor can make anyone see how special they are, how clever they are.." she trailed off, getting lost in thoughts, "He can show someone how important and how brilliant they are..."

"Is that what he did to you, then?" Donna asked.

She smiled in nostalgia as she looked at the rotor, "Twice. Time was a stupid ole, curious princess was being shown around a blue box, trying to learn what every control on this console was..." she bit her lip and contained a laugh, "My first incarnation wasn't very bright. I liked to read a lot but it just never quite stuck..." she looked over to the women, "...and when I turned then everything stuck."

Rose looked at the woman and felt her heart constrict a little at the emotion Kaeya spoke with about the Doctor. She didn't want to go to any conclusion. Heck, she still didn't even know who exactly this woman even was!

"It's what he did to her too," Kaeya nodded to Rose, "To everyone he touches."

Donna looked between both women, Rose looking to the side while Kaeya continued to smile at the console controls and rotor, "Were you and him...?" she just had to ask the smiling woman.

"Hmm?" Kaeya had to look up again and sighed lightly, "Uh..."

She didn't like to remember the fact, the most important (and most heartbreaking) fact of her first incarnation was that the love of her life had been married off to another woman. She hated knowing that while the Doctor had always visited her and gave her these precious gifts and told the most amazing stories of his adventures...she could never truly have him. He was married, he had children...and she couldn't even leave her planet.

Rose had been distracted by the clicking noise behind Donna's back, "Donna..." she called suddenly, "Do you want to see what's on your back?"

Donna just turned and gave her a look...

~ 0 ~

Rose had Donna standing in the center of the circle of mirrors, "We don't know how the TARDIS works, but we've managed to scrape off the surface technology - enough to show you the creature,," she explained to the ginger.

"It's a creature!?" Donna nearly cried in alarm.

"Just stand there," Rose straightens Donna up.

"Out of the circle, please," the captain called.

"Yes, ma'am," Rose nodded and left the circle.

"Can't you stay with me?" Donna's voice shook in a tremble, looking at Rose who did not answer.

"I'm here," she heard another voice instead, feeling her hands being taken.

Donna looked ahead of her and saw Kaeya standing in front of her, holding her hands, "I can't feel your hands..." Donna whispered.

"That's okay," Kaeya leaned to her ear, "I'm dead, remember?" she stood back again with a small smile, "Even if you can't feel me, you know I'm here with you."

"Out of the circle," the captain called again.

"I'm dead!" Kaeya snapped in an irritated tone.

"Just do it," Rose instructed the captain.

"Ready? And... activate," the captain ordered.

The machinery whirred and the lights of the circle snapped on, one by one.

"Look at me Donna, look at me," Kaeya softly instructed, sensing the ginger's fear, "Just look at me, Donna."

Donna took a long breath and nodded, only staring at the woman and nothing else.

"You can look now, Donna," Rose called after a few minutes.

"Is it there?" Donna asked Kaeya, "Is it..."

Kaeya looked behind Donna, able to see the creature through the reflection of the mirror, "Yes...it is. Look when you're ready."

Donna took another breath and moved to the side, able to see all angles of herself through the mirrors. She wore a massive black beetle on her back. She gasped in horror and spun around frantically.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay - calm down. Donna? Donna? Donna!" Rose called, making the ginger stop spinning.

Donna looked at the beetle with trepidation. The beetle took up most of her back with its pincers nuzzling her hair. It wasn't harming her but...it was _there_. Just clicking away...

"What is it?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"We don't know," Rose apologetically answered.

Donna then looked at Kaeya for something, "Do you know...?" her voice a low whisper.

"I...I think it's...responsible for pulling you into this parallel universe, but I'm sorry. All my alien knowledge hasn't been touched in centuries. On my planet, I couldn't exactly learn much that didn't deal with my people. I'm sorry...see, this alien version, completely useless of me."

Donna tilted her head, those familiar words echoing in her mind. She always thought she was useless, a useless human. For a brief moment, Donna could see herself speaking with that other woman, the one with brunette hair and jade-green eyes...inside a _train_?

"It feeds off time. By - by changing time, by making someone's life take a different turn, like er... meetings never made... children never born... a life never loved. But with you, it's..." Kaeya explained, Rose looking at her with impression, "But...I'm not entirely sure, sorry..."

"But I never did- anything important," Donna whispered.

"Yeah, you did. One day, that thing made you turn right instead of left," Rose called.

"When was that?" Donna turned to look at her.

"Oh, you wouldn't remember. It was the most ordinary day in the world, but by turning right, you never met the Doctor and Minerva and the whole world just changed around you."

"Can you get rid- of it?"

"We can't even touch it," Rose said helplessly.

Donna looked at Kaeya again, but this time even Kaeya was beat, "I'm sorry, I'm dead. I can't even touch your hand."

"It seems to be in a state of flux," Rose added.

"What...does that...mean!?" Donna nearly shouted.

"I don't know. It's the sort of thing the Doctor would say!" Rose laughed.

"You liar!" Donna shouted furiously at her, even Kaeya shooting her a glare, "You told me I was special! But it's not me! It's this thing! I'm just a host!"

"No, Donna, no," Kaeya took her hands again, "You are special, don't forget that," she looked at Rose for a second, "Why not instead of making jokes, you tell her about the separate readings?"

Rose bit her lip, a bit irritated with the snap but nonetheless obliged, "Donna, the readings are strange it's... it's like reality's just bending round you."

"Because of this thing!" the ginger continued to shout.

"No, no! We're getting separate readings from you. And they've always been there, since the day you were born."

"This is not relevant to the mission," the captain whispered to Rose.

"I thought it was just the Doctor we needed, but it's the both of you. The Doctor and Donna Noble. Together. To stop the stars from going out."

"You're wrong," Kaeya looked at Rose again, her anger gone, a simple tone in her voice, "There is a third element."

"And what's that?"

"I don't know yet...it's entirely new," Kaeya looked at Donna with a small smile, "And you're a part of it."

"Me!?" Donna was hysterical by now, shaking with fear, "Why? What can I do?!"

"So much," Kaeya assured in a whisper, "You can't see it anymore cos this isn't your world. In the other world, you were confident, you were sure of yourself. Right now you're tired and you're afraid, and that's completely understandable. But you gotta trust me and her," she nodded to Rose, "Because you're the key, Donna Noble."

Donna stepped away from her and considered her words, how sure the woman seemed to be. She looked at the mirrors, still seeing that nasty beetle on her back, "Turn it off, please," she whimpered.

"Captain," Rose said.

"Power down."

The lights powered down and Rose walked over to Donna and touched her arm, "It's... it's still there, though. What can I do... to get rid of it?" Donna looked at both women for help.

"You're going to travel in time," Rose answered.

~ 0 ~

Donna wore a thick green jacket with many wires around it. She listened to Rose who was explaining very quickly what was going to happen, "The TARDIS has tracked down the moment of intervention, Monday the 25th, one minute past ten in the morning. Your car was on Little Sutton Street Ealing Road, but you turn right heading for Griffin's Parade. You need to turn left. That's the most important thing. You've got to go back and turn left. Have you got that, Donna? One minute past ten. Make yourself turn left, heading for the Chiswick Highroad."

"Keep the jacket on at all times - it's insulation against temporal feedback," the captain said, "This will correspond to local time wherever you land," she held a glass of water for Donna, " This is to combat dehydration."

Afterwards, Donna was led to the edge of the circle by several UNIT soldiers, the captain, and Rose. Kaeya awaited inside the circle, not looking too pleased.

"This is where we leave you," Rose stopped outside the circle.

"I don't want to see that thing on my back," Donna quickly said.

"No! The mirrors are just incidental. They bounce chronon energy back into the centre which we control and decide the destination."

"It's a time machine..." Donna gawked.

Rose smiled, "It's a time machine."

"If you could?" the captain gestured for Donna to go ahead and entered.

Donna stepped inside, looking at Kaeya with a small smile. Kaeya stepped forwards, "I'll be there," she assured Donna, "Don't you worry."

"Powering up," the captain called, the machinery whirring in life again.

"How do you know it's going to work?" Donna called to them.

"Hmm? Oh... yeah... we- we don't. We're just... we're just guessing," Rose answered.

"Yeah. Oh, brilliant!"

"Just remember, when you get to the junction, change the car's direction by one minute past ten."

"How do I do that?"

"It's up to you."

"Well, I just have to... run up to myself and... have a good argument."

Rose laughed, "I'd like to see that!"

"Activate loadstone."

A switch was flicked on and the lights blinked.

"Good luck," Rose nodded.

"I'm ready!" Donna looked at Kaeya who stood beside her, completely unaffected by the machines.

"One minute past ten," reminded Rose.

"Because I understand, now. You said I was going to die, but you mean this whole world is going to blink out of existence," Donna laughed through her boldness and tears as she looked at Rose, "But that's not dying. Because a better world takes its place. The Doctor's world. And I'm still alive!" but Rose did not answer, "That's right, isn't it? I don't die? If I change things, I don't die? That's... that's right, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry..." was all Rose had to say.

"But I can't die! I've got a future! With the Doctor - you told me!" Donna's boldness faded.

"Activate!" the captain called.

As Donna disappeared, Kaeya was left standing in the center of the circle, looking straight at Rose, "I will be damned if I allow my sister to die..." and with that, she faded away.

~ 0 ~

Donna landed on all fours in a London street in broad daylight. She quickly stood up and dusted herself off, "Hold on... but this is... I'm not... this is Sutton Court! I'm half a mile away!" she yelled into the sky, "I'm half a mile away!" she checked her watch and saw it was 9:57, "Four minutes? Oh, my God..." and she ran for it.

~ 0 ~

The young Donna and her mother Sylvia approached their car, "Jival Chowdry?" Sylvia was saying, "He runs that little photocopy business in Merchant's Street. And he needs a secretary."

"I've got a job!" Donna exclaimed.

~ 0 ~

Current Donna still ran like the wind.

~ 0 ~

Young Donna clicked her seat belt, "H.C. Clements is in the City. It's nice. It's posh. So, stop it," she turned the car on.

~ 0 ~

Current Donna paused by a lamp to check her watch and continued to run again.

~ 0 ~

Young Donna and Sylvia waited at the junction, a large blue van passing by.

"It won't take long, just turn right," Sylvia pointed.

"I'm going left. If you don't like it, get out and walk!" Donna exclaimed.

~ 0 ~

Donna still ran...and ran...and ran...

~ 0 ~

"You think I'm so useless," Donna rolled her eyes.

"I know why you want a job with H.C. Clements, lady - because you think you'll meet a man..." Sylvia began her mock.

~ 0 ~

Donna stopped running for a second and gasped as her watch red one minute to ten, "I'm not going to get there. Kaeya...you said you'd be here..." she looked around, panting for air.

She wasn't going to make it...but then she recalled Rose's words... _you're going to die_...

She looked over to see the blue lorry driving up the road.

~ 0 ~

"... city executives don't need temps, except for practice," Sylvia finished.

"Yeah. S'pose you're right," Donna turned her indicator to the right.

~ 0 ~

Donna gazed at the lorry that was approaching, "Please..." she whispered and stepped onto the road.

"NO!" she heard a shout.

A large, strong wind flew from where Donna stood, a wave of snow smashing straight into the lorry, succeeding in stopping it.

"I said no!" Kaeya, fully formed, yet seemingly in a struggle, stood between Donna and the lorry, looking straight at the driver.

"You came..." Donna breathed a sigh of relief, dropping to her knees.

"I can't hold the form..." Kaeya struggled to turn around, her hands already beginning to flicker in an out.

~ 0 ~

Young Donna and Sylvia looked out to see the large amount of snow piled over cars and the road.

"What on earth is that?" Sylvia blinked.

The traffic was building up on the right, all the cars seemingly becoming stuck.

"The traffic's stopping," Donna said.

"Where did that snow come from?"

~ 0 ~

"It'll be alright Donna," Kaeya assured with a smile.

"But what's happening? Why are you fading?" Donna quickly stood back to her feet, reaching for the woman but ended up going through her literally.

"I'm not dead yet, my human version...she's still out there...without her..." Kaeya reached for Donna again, "...I'm just a light..." her hand faded before it could the ginger.

"Kaeya!?" Donna watched a blue light take over again, only swirling around, feeling like a tickle that made her laugh.

"Donna," Rose approached her, completely serious.

"She's gone..." Donna pointed at the light, confused.

Rose ignored her and moved up to her, "Tell him this: two words," she whispered into Donna's ear.

~ 0 ~

"Well, that decides it. I'm not sitting in a traffic jam. I'm going left," young Donna switched the indicator to the left.

~ 0 ~

The real, current Donna screamed as the beetle on her back flailed and dropped to the floor, "What the hell is that?"

The fortune teller look at her in terror, "You were so strong. What are you? What will you be?" she scrambled for the exit, "What will you be?"

The beetle gave one last click then remained completely still, dead.

The Doctor pulled the curtain of the tent and poked his head inside, completely oblivious, "Everything alright?"

"Oh, God...!" Donna ran straight for the Martian and encased him a big hug.

Minerva pulled the curtain further and appeared with a water bottle in her hands, "What did you do to her?" she looked at the Doctor with a warning look.

"I-I -I didn't! I swear!" he shook his head, Donna still clinging onto him.

Minerva smiled and took a drink from her bottle, "Donna, what did the Martian do-"

"And human Kaeya!" Donna pulled Minerva into the hug.

"Excuse me?" Minerva blinked, looking up at the Doctor again.

~ 0 ~

The trio sat inside the tent, the Doctor examining the beetle...by poking it with an incense stick. Donna had explained to them what had happened and she was still trying to process it.

"I can't remember. It's slipping away. You know like when you try and think of a dream and it just sort of... goes," Donna was saying.

"But you met Kaeya? The actual woman that is me?" Minerva asked, a bit excited if she had to admit.

"It just got lucky, this thing," the Doctor spoke about the beetle, "It's one of the Trickster's Brigade. Changes a life in tiny little ways. Most times, the universe just compensates around it, but with you...great big parallel world!"

Donna smiled then recalled, "Hold on, you said parallel worlds are sealed off."

"They are. But you had one created around you. Funny thing is, it seems to be happening a lot. To you."

"That's true," Minerva agreed, "The Library and then this..."

"Just... goes with the job. I suppose," Donna shrugged.

But the Doctor looked at her in an observant way, his brow furrowed, "Sometimes I think there's way too much coincidence around you, Donna. I met you once. I met your grandfather. Then I met you again. In the whole wide universe, I met you for a second time. It's like something's binding us together."

"You met me twice," Minerva reminded.

"Yeah, see, there's something meaningful," Donna gestured between them, "Love always finds away. But me? C'mon, don't be daft, I'm not that special."

"Hey," Minerva threw her a playful sharp look, "What have I said about that confidence?"

"That you are brilliant," the Doctor answered.

Donna smiled appreciatively...then remembered...

A blonde woman had told her that in the park...

"She said that," Donna whispered.

"Who did?" Minerva asked.

"That woman..." Donna thought harder, "I can't remember."

"Well, she never existed now," the Doctor shrugged.

"No, but she said... the stars... she said the stars are going out."

"But the world never existed, so the problem doesn't either," Minerva assured.

"No, but she said it was all worlds. Every world. She said the darkness is coming, even here."

"Who was she?" the Doctor asked, now intrigued.

"I don't know..."

"What did she look like?"

"She was...blonde."

Minerva stiffened, "Was she..."

"What was her name?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know," Donna shook her head.

"Donna, what was her name?"

But Donna recalled the blonde woman telling her something, in that last moment, "But she told me... to warn you. She said... two words."

"What two words? What were they? What did she say?"

"Bad Wolf."

The Doctor's eyes widened, even shaking a bit.

"Well, what does it mean?" Donna asked, oblivious to the dire situation.

But the Doctor leaped out of his chair and ran out the tent. Donna looked at Minerva who was staring hard at the table, her eyes watery.

"Of course..." Minerva whispered and stood up, following the Doctor in a calm manner.

The market place was now chuck-full of 'Bad Wolf' signs everywhere. Every word, every mark read the two dire words. Even the TARDIS read it. The Doctor hurriedly opened the doors and ran inside, Donna and Minerva following.

"Well, what is it? What's Bad Wolf?" Donna asked insistingly, looking between the two.

"It's the end of the Universe," the Doctor breathed heavily.

For Minerva, it meant the end of the universe...and an old, chaotic reunion.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Well, well, well, we finally got a small insight to Kaeya .-. Hope you guys got the meaning of the chapter's title (I'm kinda evil like that) And then next comes...Stolen Earth! Oh boy, get ready cos here's where things go down for everyone .

 _For Reviews:_

Good catch! It as definitely because of that, along with Minerva being completely human back then. Well, the light went into Minerva but she couldn't exactly handle it as we saw. It was still too early in the process for her to take it in which was why she ended up all exhausted. As you saw it kinda gave a partial answer on how Minerva was saved but I promise you that part will come up in this story again. So sorry but you pretty much guessed it, our Minerva had to die unfortunately in this chapter :'/

Thank you! Hope you liked the chapter! :)

Yeah, Midnight wasn't exactly one of my favorite episodes. It was so stressful and plain creepy! Writing it was no pleasure either . Well, right now my plans are to keep going as far as Doctor Who will air. I mean, right now, I'm just starting season 7 and I hope to keep going. I don't know how I'd plan the whole tank thing but I like your idea cos it just sounds like something he would do. Plus, I actually have a little thing with 11 and a guitar which you'll see when the story is published so perhaps your idea may happen a bit earlier? ;)

Hope everyone liked the chapter and found it believable, until next time! :)


	20. Stolen Earth

The TARDIS materialized in the corner of a perfectly normal suburban, London street. The Doctor bolted out from the doors with a panicked expression. Donna and Minerva followed out, both looking around with the Doctor.

"It's fine... everything's fine," the Doctor breathed. If everything was so right then why did he still feel so panicked and not relaxed?

"Nothing looks wrong, Doctor," Minerva sighed, "It looks normal."

But the Doctor hadn't heard as he was watching a milk-cart trundle down the road, "Excuse me? What day is it?" he called to the man in charge, unaware of the deep sigh Minerva gave behind him.

"Saturday," the milk man called.

"Saturday, good!" he looked back at the women, "Good, I like Saturdays."

"So...I just met Rose Tyler?" Donna looked directly at Minerva, knowing what that meant for the poor brunette.

"Yeah," the Doctor was still casting looks everywhere, trying to find at least one thing that was wrong.

"Doctor, you said parallel worlds are sealed off," Minerva spoke up, "Rose is locked away in one of them..."

"So if she can cross from her parallel world to Donna's parallel world, then that means the walls of the universe are breaking down, which puts everything in danger. Everything. But how?" he hurried back into the TARDIS.

Minerva sighed again and looked at Donna, "Did she say anything about me? Anything bad?"

Donna shook her head, "Not that I remember."

"Well I'm sure she'll have plenty to say when she sees I've taken her love..." she mumbled and stepped inside the TARDIS.

Donna followed her in with a sad look cast at the brunette. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor made a round around the console. Not a moment had passed when the TARDIS suddenly shook and sent the trio to the floor.

"What the hell was that!?" Donna lifted her head up, completely alarmed.

"It came from outside," Minerva pulled herself up while the Doctor dashed for the doors.

The Doctor's eyes widened at the sight beyond the doors. Donna and Minerva hurried up to be on either side of him, also bewildered. There was space beyond the doors with a couple rocks floating here and there.

"We're in space...how did that happen?" Donna raised an eyebrow, "What did you do!?" she then shouted at the Doctor with fear.

The Doctor ignored her and ran back to the console to look at the monitor, his face growing into further confusion, "We haven't moved. We're fixed. It can't have... no," he rushed back to the door to look out again, stunned, "The TARDIS is still in the same place, but the Earth is gone. The entire planet... it's gone!"

~ 0 ~

 _New York: UNIT Headquarters_

Martha Jones laid on the floor, unconscious, surrounded by utter chaos. There were smoking wires, sparks and the shouts of terrified people. Slowly, Martha opened her eyes and lifted her head, "What was that?" she sat up, "Was there some sort of earthquake or...?" she stood up, looking around, "Jalandra, are you all right?"

A fellow employee was taking a breath in at the chaos, "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Is anyone hurt?" Martha called around the room. A woman, Suzanne, crossed over to the windows and pulled up the blinds, "We've lost power, someone get the lights back on - DaCosta, see to it right now," Martha was ordering when she spotted Suzanne, "Suzanne? Are you okay?"

"Martha, look at the sky..." the woman replied shakily, her gaze stuck on what laid on the other side of the windows.

"Why, what is it?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

"Just look at the sky!"

~ 0 ~

 _Cardiff: Torchwood Hub_.

Torchwood was thrown into the same type of chaos as UNIT had, its inhabitants thrown onto the floor.

Jack was clambering to his feet while calling out to the others, "Whoa! What happened? Must be the rift..." he ran out from his office, "Gwen? Ianto? Are you okay?"

Gwen and Ianto were just barely picking their selves up from the floor while taking collection of what had just happened.

"No broken bones... slight loss of dignity. No change there, then," Ianto dusted himself off.

"The whole city must've felt that! The whole of South Wales!" Gwen exclaimed.

"I'm gonna take a look outside..." Jack offered and went to do just that.

As the alarms blared, Jack ran for the doors while Gwen and Ianto went to the computers. Ianto pressed a couple buttons and stared at the screen in disbelief, "Uh, little bit bigger than South Wales," he announced.

~ 0 ~

 _Ealing, London._

Sarah Jane Smith scrambled to her feet inside her attic, which was completely in chaos as well, "Luke!? Are you alright!?" she ran to where her son Luke was crouched in a corner and pulled him to his feet.

"Felt like some sort of cross-dimensional spatial transference," the boy rambled, still a bit dizzy from the shake.

Sarah Jane noticed the darkness that was coming through the window, "It's night. It wasn't night! It was eight o'clock in the morning! Mr Smith, I need you!" she called and the chimney breast opened up with some fancy introduction music to reveal the computer, Mr. Smith, was, "I wish you'd stop giving me that fanfare and just tell me what happened!"

 _"Sarah Jane, I think you should look outside. I think you'll find the visual evidence most conclusive."_

Sarah Jane rushed to the window and opened up the blinds, her eyes widening at the sight that laid above.

~ 0 ~

 _Chiswick, London._

Wilf was standing outside the Noble's house, holding a rounders bat, "It's gone dark... it's them aliens, I'll bet my pension," he then shouted at no one in particular, "What do you want this time, you green swine?"

Sylvia had stepped outside and was perturbed by the sight above them, "Dad..."

"You get back inside, Sylvia. They always want the women!"

"No, Dad, just look... oh, my God! Look at the sky!" Sylvia shook her father until he looked up, he immediately clutched her hand in horror.

~ 0 ~

 _London._

The milkman that had been greeted by the Doctor stood in the street in complete darkness. He was frozen as he stared up at the sky. A wind billowed behind him followed by a buzzing of electricity and a blue flash of light. The milkman looked back to see Rose Tyler appear holding an enormous gun.

Rose looked up at the sky, unperturbed, more like ready, "Right, now we're in trouble," she released the safety latch of her gun, "It's only just beginning..."

The sky contained sinister shades of colors with overlapping planets that were just a bit far too close to Earth.

~ 0 ~

Donna was slowly making a realization while the Doctor worked on the console, "But... if the Earth's been moved... they've lost the sun. "

"Doctor, what about our families?" Minerva moved over to him, "My grandmother, my father...my uncle, Stacey, Cody...are they all dead?"

"I don't know, Minerva. I just don't know. I'm sorry. I don't know," the Doctor helplessly looked at her, seeing Donna wore the same terrified face Minerva did, "I'm really sorry.

"That's our families...our whole world," Donna whispered.

"There's no readings, nothing. Not a trace. Not even a whisper. Oh, that is... fearsome technology," he scratched the side of his neck, completely stumped.

"So what do we do?" Minerva asked, "We're not going to sit here, are we?"

"We've got to get help."

"From where?" Donna asked.

"Donna, Minerva... I'm taking you to the Shadow Proclamation. Hold tight," he pulled a lever, making the rota rise and fall.

~ 0 ~

In Torchwood, Ianto was watching the series of news broadcasts dealing with the sudden sky's change of appearance.

 _"The United Nations have issued an edict asking the citizens of the world not to panic. So far, there has been no explanation of the twenty-six planets which have appeared in the sky."_

 _"But it's an empirical fact: the planets didn't come to us, we came to them. Just look at the stars - we are in a completely different region of space. We've traveled."_

 _"Do you know what, I look up and there's all these moons and things - have you seem them? Did you see them? I thought, what was I drinking last night? Furniture polish?"_

At that last channel, Ianto let out a big laughter. Jack, who stood across the room in front of another computer, looked over and reprimanded him, "Ianto! There's a time and a place."

Ianto turned the monitor off, still chortling, "He is funny, though."

"Gwen, come and see!" Jack called.

Gwen was making ehr way down the stairs, talking over the phone, "Rhys? I have no idea, just stay indoors. And can you phone my mother? Tell her um... oh, I don't know, just tell her to take her pills and go to sleep. I'm gonna come home as soon as I can. I promise. I love you... you big idiot," she smiled and hung up.

"Someone's established an artificial atmospheric shell keeping the air and holding in the heat," Jack explained as Gwen and Ianto moved over to him.

"Whoever's done this wants the human race alive. That's a plus," Ianto offered. Jack pulled over a 3D diagrammatic representations of the 26 planets surrounding Earth, "Twenty-seven planets, including the Earth."

There was a flashing red spot of light among the planet that Gwen saw, "No, but what's that? That's not a planet!"

~ 0 ~

Back with Sarah Jane, she and Luke was looking at a similar model that Torchwood had and had also spotted the red light on the screen.

" _The reading seems to be artificial in construction_ ," Mr. Smith said.

"Some sort of space-station, sitting in the heart of the web," Sarah Jane tried reasoning.

Luke approached Sarah Jane with his cellphone, "They're fine - Maria and her Dad, they're still in Cornwall. I told them to stay indoors. And Clyde's all right, he's with his Mum."

" _Sarah Jane, I have detected movement. Observe,_ " Mr. Smith announced as the red light expanded on the screen, now looking as a pulsating sheet that blanketed the earth.

"Spaceships!" Luke exclaimed, unaware of Sarah Jane's nervous smile.

~ 0 ~

General Sanchez was marching into the busy control room, "Tracking two-hundred objects, Earthbound trajectory. Geneva is calling a Code Red. Everyone to battle positions. Doctor Jones -" he looked at Martha who was on her cellphone, "If you're not too busy?"

"I'm trying to phone the Doctor, Sir," she explained.

"And?"

"There's no signal. This number calls anywhere in the universe. It never breaks down. They must be blocking it," she looked at the screen that displayed planets and the red light, "Whoever 'they' are."

"We're about to find out. They're coming into orbit."

~ 0 ~

Out in the streets was complete anarchy. People ran, screamed, places were thrashed with alarms blaring. Drunk people drove their cars, one with a man hanging out while clutching a bear and shouting to the people they passed. Rose emerged from an alleyway, still holding to her gun, and made her way onto the street.

A drunken man spotted her and opened his arms wide, "The end of the world, darlin'! The end of the stinkin' world!" he cried of drunken delight.

"Have one on me, mate," Rose half-smiled and the man continued on his way. She flinched when she heard a window smash behind her followed by another alarm going off.

She hurried into an electronics shop where she saw two young teens looting everything they could, "Right! You two! You can put that stuff down, or run for your lives," she released the safety catch on her gun once more, the teens eyes widening at the sight, "Do you like my gun?" the teens ran for it and Rose went for a computer, sitting down in front of it with a worried look as she watched the spaceships surround the earth.

~ 0 ~

Gwen and Ianto watched the spaceships loom closer on the model on their computer screen, "Three-thousand miles and closing," Gwen mumbled, agitated, "But who are they?!"

Jack's phone rung and he quickly pulled it out, seeing the caller ID and answered, "Martha Jones! Voice of a nightingale. Tell me you put something in my drink."

~ 0 ~

Martha was at her desk, a bit breathless after all the work, "No such luck. Have you heard from the Doctor or Minerva?"

"Not a word. Where are you?"

"New York."

"Hm, nice for some."

"Yeah, well, right now I pretty much wish I was back in San Diego..." Martha mumbled, knowing just how Minerva's family must be with concern, especially if they couldn't get ahold of her or the Doctor, "I was promoted, finally, Medical Director on Project Indigo."

Jack's cheerful face faltered at those words, "Did you get that thing working?"

~ 0 ~

"Indigo's top secret. No-one's supposed to know about it," Martha frowned.

~ 0 ~

"Oh, I met a soldier in a bar. Long story," Jack shrugged.

"When was that?" Ianto interjected suspiciously, already eyeing Jack.

"Strictly professional," Jack assured.

"Fifteen-hundred miles, boys, and accelerating. They're almost here," Gwen called.

~ 0 ~

" _I'm receiving communication from the Earthbound ships. A message for the human race,_ " Mr. Smith announced for Sarah Jane.

"Put it through. Let's hear it," Sarah Jane stood forwards.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

And then she took a step back...

~ 0 ~

Jack opened his mouth to remark when he heard the message too...

"Exterminate!"

~ 0 ~

"Exterminate!"

Martha turned at the voices, her eyes widening.

"Exterminate!"

~ 0 ~

"No," Jack mumbled.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

He trembled, "Oh, no..."

"What is it? Who are they? Do you know them, Jack?" Gwen asked, but received no answer.

Instead, Jack pulled both Gwen and Ianto into a hug, kissing both of their heads as they listened tot he awful voices.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

~ 0 ~

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Luke stood in confusion while Sarah Jane shook with terror and with tears on her face.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

"No..." she whispered.

~ 0 ~

Jack's eyes riveted at the monitor, holding onto Ianto and Gwen tight, no hope anymore, "There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry, but we're dead."

~ 0 ~

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Sarah Jane clutched Luke while she sobbed, "Oh, God you're- you're so young."

~ 0 ~

Rose had also picked up on the transmission of the Daleks and shivered only slightly, fear spurring inside but not with shock. She stood up and left the store. Outside, there was a Dalek ship that flew so low it was practically skimmed the rooftops, its missiles firing down to the streets. Rose turned away just as a missile struck behind her which caused an enormous explosion...and yet she did not show an ounce of emotion at it.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS shook violently, even more than usual, making Donna and Minerva cling onto the console for dear life while the Doctor tried to operate the controls with one hand.

"So, go on then - what is the Shadow Proclamation, anyway?" Donna called.

"It's a stupid way of saying 'police'," Minerva rolled her eyes, "An outer space police."

"Here we go!" the Doctor exclaimed.

The TARDIS gave one last lurch which sent the Doctor to the floor on his back. Minerva sighed and peered over, "You okay, Martian?"

"Just...fine," he sat up and with the help of her, stood up.

Cautiously, the Doctor emerged out of the TARDIS first, Donna and Minerva following slowly. They were greeted by a group of Judoon with pointed guns at them, the trio immediately raised their hands in surrender.

"Sco po tro no flow jo ko fo to to," one of the Judoon spoke.

"No bo ho so ko ro toe so," the Doctor replied.

Donna blinked and looked at Minerva for some kind of explanation. Minerva just made a tired face and shook her head.

"Bo-ko-do-zo-go-bo-fo-po-jo!" the Doctor finished up, and the guns were lowered, "Ma ho."

~ 0 ~

The trio now spoke to the Shadow Architect in a room guarded with Judoon, "Time Lords are the stuff of legend. They belong in the myths and whispers of the Higher Species. You cannot possibly exist," the architect studied the Doctor.

"Can we please get onto the fact that we have a planet missing?" Minerva asked, well more demanded.

"Who is the female?" the architect's eyes narrowed at the brunette.

But Minerva was frankly in no mood for a condescending look. Her grandmother, her father, her uncle, her friends, were on Earth which was currently missing and this woman was asking who the hell she was?

"I am Minerva, also known as, Kaeya, princess of the Silver Monsoon now let's get to business!"

"The Moontsays are an extinct species," the architect did her best not to show her surprise of the attitude she received from the woman.

"You might want to check your records again, lady," a different voice called from the end of the room, making everyone look back, "Because we are more than alive, we are _outraged_ ," Zohar strolled inside the room with a young man behind her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" the Doctor asked the black-haired woman with confusion, "And who the hell is he?" he pointed to the man behind her.

"How'd you get past the rhinos?" Donna was curious and just had to ask.

"I speak Judoon," Zohar flashed a grin, looking at the architect, "There was a lot of time we Moontsays had on our hands after we survived the war."

"Zohar, to business, please," the young man reminded in a hushed tone.

"Oh yes," Zohar clapped her hands together and leaned forwards, "We have a missing planet on our hands, where is it?" her smile had exchanged for a demanding scowl at her demand.

"You mean Earth?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"No, she means _my_ planet," the young man corrected, serious, "Nix Terra has gone missing and I'd like to know where it is."

"Nix Terra is where the Moontsays reside," Zohar explained calmly, "Prince Nerio and I were just above the planet, getting ready to return home after a meeting when the planet just...moved."

The architect looked from one another, seeing no point in delaying the story, "The picture is far bigger than any of you imagine. The whole universe is in outrage: twenty-four worlds have been taken from the sky."

" _How_ many?" the Doctor incredulously looked at her, "Which ones? Show me!" he ran over to the computer and quickly put his glasses on.

"The locations range far and wide. They all disappeared at the exact same moment, leaving no trace," the architect showed him.

The Doctor frowned as he read off the different planets that had been stolen, "Callufrax Minor, Jahoo, Shallacatop, Woman Wept, Clom - Clom's gone?! Who'd want Clom?"

"Don't think this is the time to insult planets, dear," Minerva crossed her arms and gave him a look.

"Sorry," he quickly returned to business.

"The planets are different sizes," Minerva took notice of the hologram's details, "Are all of these populated?"

"No," the architect shook her head.

"Connected species?"

"No."

"They're all unconnected."

"What about Pyrovilia?" Donna suddenly asked.

"And who are you?" the architect asked, tired of the newcomers in general.

"Donna. I'm a Human Being. Maybe not the stuff of legend, but every bit as important as Time Lords, Moontsays, and..." the ginger cast a look to the prince, "Sorry I don't know what you're called," she looked back at the architect, "But my point stands, thank you very much."

"That's my ginger sister," Minerva whispered, smiling proudly at her.

"Way back when we were in Pompeii, Lucius said Pyrovillia had gone missing," Donna turned to the Doctor.

"Pyrovillia is cold case. Not relevant," a Judoon said.

"How do you mean, 'cold case'?" she insisted.

"The planet Pyrovilia cannot be part of this, it disappeared over two-thousand years ago."

"Yes, but there was also the Adipose breeding planet," Minerva reminded, "Miss Foster said it was also lost, but it was also a long time ago..."

"That's it! Donna, Minerva, brilliant as ever! Truly sisters! The planets have been taken out of time as well as space," the Doctor tampered with the computer, "Let's put this into 3D," a hologram of the missing planets appeared throughout the room, "Now, if we add Pyrovilia..." he added the planet which then appeared on the hologram, "And Adipose 3..." the second planet was added, "There's something missing. Where else, where else, where else, lost, lost, lost, lost...?"

"The Lost Moon of Poosh," Minerva stated.

"Clever Girl," he pointed at her then quickly added the planet.

"I knew planets couldn't just be lost," she sighed, "I mean, how do you misplace something the side of a...well, planet?"

The Doctor walked among the planets which then rearranged themselves.

"What did you do?" the architect asked, startled.

"Nothing. The planets rearranged themselves into the optimum pattern," the Doctor looked at the new arrangement with appreciation, "Oh... look at that. Twenty-seven planets in perfect balance. Come on, that is gorgeous!"

Minerva moved over to him, a sad smile on her face, "Can we please focus though? Not only is my human family gone but my species too."

"Sorry," he made a face and focused again, "All those worlds fit together like pieces of an engine. It's like a power house. But what for?"

"Who would design such a thing?" the prince asked, reminding them all that he and Zohar still stood with them.

"Someone tried to move the Earth once before. A long time ago..." the Doctor trailed off, getting lost in thoughts, "Can't be..."

~ 0 ~

Jack rushed to a computer as an alarm blared, a voice filtering through the communications.

 _"The shields are down! There's so many of them! Abandon ship!"_

"The Valiant's down!" Jack stared in horror.

"Airforce retreating over North Africa! Daleks landing in Japan," Ianto called.

"We've lost contact with the Prime Minister's plane," Gwen added, "Jack, Manhattan!"

Jack quickly grabbed his phone which still held open the line with Martha, "Martha, get out of there."

~ 0 ~

Martha was wrapping a bandage around an employee's head, "I can't, Jack, I've got a job to do."

"They're targeting military bases, and you're next on the list."

General Sanchez stood behind Martha when he called for her, "Doctor Jones - you will come with me. Project Indigo is being activated," Martha stood up, stunned, "Quick march."

Martha and the general, along with a soldier, walked through a set of double doors and down a corridor in a brisk walk.

"But we can't use Project Indigo. It hasn't been tested, sir, we don't even know if it works!" Martha tried to reason, she knew the panic was up to a maximum but this was something big, something dangerous.

A soldier turned a wheel on a door which opened up to a secure storage safe. General Sanchez gestured to a body pack that hung on the wall, "Put it on. Fast as you can."

Martha moved over to it but stopped when she heard Jack's voice on her phone, "Martha, I'm telling you - don't use Project Indigo, it's not safe!"

"You take your orders from UNIT, Doctor Jones, not from Torchwood," the general snapped.

"But why me?" she had to ask as she put the bodypack on.

"You are our only hope of finding the Doctor. But failing that... if no help is coming... then by the power invested in me by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, I authorize you to take this," he held to Martha digital microchip encased in plastic, "The Osterhagen Key."

"I can't take that, sir," she shook her head, fearfully staring at the key.

"You know what to do. For the sake of the Human Race," he brandished it on her anyways. He closed Martha's fingers around it and gave her a nod.

"Daleks one five breaching north corridor. Exterminate! Exterminate, exterminate!"

"Doctor Jones..." the general saluted to her, "Good luck," and he and the soldier turned to face the approaching the Dalek.

"Bye, Jack," Martha called weakly.

"Martha, don't do it!" he shouted.

Martha shut her eyes tightly and pulled the chords on the sides of her bodypack and disappeared with a blue light.

~ 0 ~

"DON'T!" Jack screamed into his phone to no avail. Jack lowered his phone after the line died and kicked the desk in rage and frustration, making Gwen flinch.

"What's Project Indigo?" Ianto asked, though by the looks of it it wasn't such a good thing.

"Experimental teleport salvaged from the Sontarans. But they haven't got co-ordinates or stabilization!"

"Then where is she?" Gwen asked.

"Scattered into atoms," Jack answered, breathing heavily, Gwen's eyes widening in horror, "Martha's down."

~ 0 ~

Donna sat on the stairs and wiped a tear off her face. Everyone except for her were across the room looking into a computer, seemingly lost. Donna wiped another loose tear from her face then stared straight ahead for some reason...the noises around her fading away...and a beating of a heart rising...

A small wind billowed in front of her, making her flinch but smiled when she saw the blue light floating in front of her.

"I see you've made friends with her," Zohar walked over, surprising Donna.

"Sort of...it's been following me for a while, now."

"You know, I think it's chosen you, then," Zohar looked said, a small knowing-smile on her face that Donna wasn't aware of.

"Chosen? For what?"

Zohar shrugged, "Don't know. She won't say. But she's chosen you for something."

Donna looked at the light for a second, tilting her head. What could this light possibly want from her?

"Can I please have a cup of water?" Minerva asked a nearby servant, "I'm really thirsty."

"Minerva?" the Doctor called, holding her water bottle, "Here!"

She caught the bottle as it was thrown and nodded her thanks before heading over to Donna and Zohar. She removed the cap off and proceeded to drink a large amount of water.

Zohar watched with a slight pride, "You know, if you're drinking a lot of water it's because you're almost done now," Minerva made a face as she swallowed and put the lid back on her bottle, "Moontsays need a lot of water in their bodies as part of our biological code and abilities."

"You mean that stupid chipped ice on my nails? That's not fun," Minerva shook her head.

"You'll get used to it, when you learn to control your abilities again it'll be no problem."

"Yeah, I'd really rather not talk about a future where both my human family and actual species are missing."

"You really care for us, don't you?" Zohar asked, her proud smile spreading.

"Of course," Minerva shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? I'm lucky that there were survivors of my home. Of course I'll care. But you know what I don't care for? Your friend that keeps staring at me," she nodded discreetly back to the men and the architect.

"He's a prince," Zohar corrected, "He and his family know all about you and they're quite interested in you."

"That can't lead to good things," Donna scoffed as she looked at the prince and the Doctor, seeing the tension that could mount if the Doctor found out about this 'interest' the prince had for Minerva.

"Yeah, okay, but that doesn't mean I like him staring," Minerva mumbled to Zohar.

"Minerva, c'mon," Zohar nudged her, "I mean, you're practically the bloody queen of the Silver Monsoon who's also human who's also changing who's also a time traveler. You kinda have a lot going on."

"Still, I'll slap him if he gets funny ideas," Donna declared.

Minerva smiled, "Thanks, Donna."

"Of course," the ginger nodded.

"Please don't," Zohar sighed lightly, "Eventually, Minerva will have to make formal relationships with him and his father and his sisters. It's best not to spark war."

"So much diplomacy," Donna mumbled.

"It's what awaits her royal highness when she returns," Zohar smiled.

Minerva wasn't too pleased with that and so turned away. She didn't like to think of the life she'd have to lead stuck on the Monsoon. She liked the idea of retaking her old title and the job that came with it. But that didn't mean she wanted people waiting on her. She didn't want to fake a relation with any family, if they were to know each other it should be because they wanted to, not because of their planets or titles.

"Donna, come on, think. Earth. There must've been some sort of warning. Was there anything happening back in your day, like... electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the sky?" the Doctor called over, leaning on a banister.

"Well, how should I know? Um... no. I don't think so, no."

"Oh, okay, never mind," he sighed and straightened up.

"Although... there were the bees disappearing."

"The bees disappearing. The _bees_ disappearing," the Doctor sarcastically said.

"Oi, don't be rude!" Minerva scolded, "She's trying."

But the Doctor blinked in realization, "The bees disappearing!" he yelled and ran to the computer again.

"How is this significant to the problem?" the prince asked, watching the Doctor work.

"On Earth, we have these insects. Some people said it was pollution or mobile phone signals," Donna rushed over, Zohar and Minerva following.

"Or... they were going back home," the Doctor said.

"Back home where?" Donna and Minerva asked, confused.

"The planet Melissa Majoria."

"Please don't tell me bees are actually aliens..." Minerva looked at him curiously.

"Don't be so daft-"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean that you can't stop being so lovely..." the Doctor made a face of error, "And it's not all of them. But, if the migrant bees felt something, some sort of danger, and escaped... Tandocca!"

"The Tandocca Scale," the architect nodded in agreement.

"The Tandocca Scale is a series of wavelengths used as carrier signals by migrant bees. Infinitely small, no wonder we didn't see it. It's like looking for a speck of cinnamon in the Sahara. But look!" the Doctor pointed at the screen excitedly, "There it is! The Tandocca trail," the screen wore a trail of blue light, "The transmat that moved that planets was using the same wavelength! We can follow the path!"

"And that means we can find the Earth!" Minerva exclaimed, Donna already halfway to the TARDIS.

"Well, stop talking and do it!" Donna called.

"I am!" he yanked Minerva after him and followed Donna. He ran himself and Minerva up to console, "We're a bit late. The signal's scattered, but it's a start!" he ran out the door and poked his head out, seeing the awaiting trio, Zohar just a little closer, "I've got a blip! It's just a blip, but it's definitely a blip."

"Then according to the strictures of the Shadow Proclamation, I will have to seize your transport and your technology," the architect declared.

"Oh, really? What for?" he frowned, taken aback.

"If I am correct," the prince raised a finger for the architect who nodded and let him proceed, "The planets were stolen with hostile intent, including _mine,_ and so there is war to be declared."

The Doctor frowned, yes he did not like the prince anymore. Plus, he saw the looks the prince had been giving _his_ Clever Girl. Yes, yes, dislike enacted.

"My home may be gone but we have allies, and you will lead us into battle!" the prince practically ordered, something else the Doctor disliked.

"Right. Yes. Course I will. Just go and... get you a key," the Doctor started sliding into the TARDIS again.

"Can I make sure you go and get it?" Zohar suddenly asked, smiling a bit, "Please?"

He sighed, "Yes, fine."

She beamed and hurried on inside, shut the doors after them. The Doctor flung his coat over one of the railings and ran back to the console, joining Minerva with a soft smile, "Off we are?"

"Oh yes," she nodded and he pulled the lever.

Past them, they didn't see how Zohar was looking around the box in complete gawk as she held onto the rails.

~ 0 ~

Wilf and Sylvia watched from around the corner as a Dalek was setting a line of humans in the road.

"Dad, please, come home, they're leaving our street alone," Sylvia repeatedly begged but the man wouldn't budge.

"Yeah, I've got a weapon," he replied instead.

"It's a paint-gun!"

"Exactly. Them Dalek things, they've only got one eye. A good splodge of paint, they'd be blinded! "

"We're not going. Do you hear me?" a man shouted at the Dalek who forming the line, "Laura, get back inside the house. Simon, get inside. Go!" his wife and son hurried back into their house while the man picked up a brick and threw it at the Dalek, "Get back in the sky! Go back where you came from and leave us alone!" the brick did absolutely nothing to the dalek.

The Dalek advanced towards the house while the man hurried inside, "Dalek attack formation seven," three more daleks lined up outside the house, "Maximum extermination!" all Daleks shot at a different window of the house and made it burst into flames.

"They're monsters," Wilf's eyes widened.

"Please, Dad, come home," Sylvia tugged on his sleeve.

Wilf finally allowed her to pull him away and the two hurried around the back of the houses...when a Dalek stopped them.

"Halt! You will come with me," it ordered.

"Will I, 'eck!" Wilf aimed the paint-gun and fired at the Dalek.

A splodge of yellow paint landed on the eyepiece only to boil away and clear up the vision of the creature, " My vision is _not_ impaired."

"I warned you, Dad!" Sylvia cried.

"Hostility will not be tolerated! Exterminate! Exterminate! Extermin-"

But the top of the Dalek was blown off, leaving a smoldering wreck. Rose Tyler stood behind it, her massive gun still in hands.

"Do you want to swap?" Wilf waved his gun meekly.

Rose walked over to them, "You're Donna Noble's family, right?" Wilf nodded, "I'm Rose Tyler, and I need you."

~ 0 ~

"I tried calling her, but I can't get through. She's still with Minerva and the Doctor, I know that much, and the- and the last time she phoned, it- it was from a planet called Midnight, made of diamonds," Wilf explained to Rose as they sat in the kitchen of their home.

Sylvia held a pot of tea for them, "What the hell are you two on about?"

"Look, she's out there, sweetheart! Your daughter! She's travelling the stars with that Doctor and Minerva," Wilf said, "She always has been."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sylvia shook her head.

Wilf's eyes narrowed, "Oh, come on, open your eyes. Look at the sky. Look at the- look at the Daleks! You can't start denying things now!"

Dejectedly, Rose sighed, "You're my last hope. If we can't find Donna... we can't find the Doctor. "

"But what about Minerva? She has to have a family too," Wilf offered, "In America."

"She does, but they're not answering anymore..." Rose sighed again, "...Donna was truly the last person..." she buried her head in her hands, "...where is he?"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Donna, and Minerva held onto the console for support while Zohar continued back at the rails, still not quite over the enormous size of the blue box! Suddenly, everything stopped...dead.

"It's stopped..." the Doctor let go of the console, a bit confused.

"Well, is that good or bad?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Where are we?" Donna asked.

He looked over on the monitor, "The Medusa Cascade..." he stared at the screen, thinking, "...I came here when I was just a kid. Ninety years old. It was the center of a rift in time and space."

"So... where are the twenty-seven planets?" Minerva asked softly, liking the beautiful image on the screen, but...she'd much rather see her Earth.

"Nowhere. The Tandocca Trail stops dead," he answered quietly, "End of the line."

"So, what do we do? Doctor? What do we do?" Donna awaited for something, it couldn't just be _the end_. But the Doctor continued to stare at the screen with nothing more, complete defeated.

"You can't do that..." Minerva breathed, shakily, "...don't you dare," she pointed, even her finger shaky, "Tell us what we're going to do right now!"

"You never give up," Donna added, just as worked up as Minerva.

Zohar quietly walked over, her own face grim but completely silent.

"Doctor, _please_..." Minerva begged, her tears streaming. All he did was reach out for her and pulled her for a hug, a very tight hug where she began sniffling.

~ 0 ~

Wilf sat with his arm around Sylvia, both huddled together in an armchair. He kissed her forehead as she cried quietly. The Daleks were destroying everything outside, taking people for God knew what, and it was only a matter of time until they arrived on their street.

" _You will obey Dalek instruction without question. You will obey your Dalek ma-_ " the Dalek's voice outside was cut off by a loud beeping sound.

Wilf and Rose looked around to see what was making the sound and saw the laptop had sprung to life, showing a white noise while a familiar voice strained to get through.

"Can anyone hear me? The subwave network is open, you should be able to hear my voice..."

Rose hurried to the laptop in surprise.

"Is there anyone there?"

"I know that voice...!" Rose exclaimed, kneeling in front of the laptop.

~ 0 ~

"Who's that?" Luke asked as he and Sarah Jane also heard the voice calling through.

"Some poor soul calling for help," Sarah Jane helplessly said, "There's nothing we can do."

"But look at Mr Smith!" he pointed.

"Processing incoming subwave."

The screen displayed a vague outline of a person, buried in white noise.

~ 0 ~

Back in Torchwood, the same voice was calling through. Gwen jumped to her feet at the sounds and dashed for the computer.

"This message is of the utmost importance. We haven't much time. Can anyone hear me?"

"Someone's trying to get in touch," Gwen stood in front of the computer.

"The whole world's crying out. Just leave it," Jack quietly said.

"Captain Jack Harkness, shame on you!" Harriet Jones reprimanded from the screen, "Now, stand to attention, sir!"

Jack ran to the computer, while Ianto hurriedly followed, "What?! Who is that?" Jack demanded.

The image on the screen finally cleared up and revealed Harriet Jones sitting in front of her computer in her house, flashing an ID card at the screen, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yeah, I know who you are," Jack nodded.

~ 0 ~

Rose was yelling at the screen in excitement, "Harriet! It's me, it's me! Oh, she can't hear me -" she looked back to Wilf, "Have you got a webcam?"

"No," he pointed at Sylvia, "She wouldn't let me. She said they're naughty."

Rose sighed and looked back to the laptop screen, "Well, I can't speak to her then, can I?"

~ o ~

"Sarah Jane Smith, 13 Bannerman Road. Are you there?" Harriet Jones asked.

Sarah Jane jumped to her feet, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm here! It's me!"

~ 0 ~

"Good! Now, let's see if we can talk to each other," Harriet pressed a few buttons around her.

The screens divided into four squares, the first one taken by her, the second by Jack, the third by Sarah Jane and the fourth was still in white noise.

"The fourth contact seems to be having some trouble getting through," Harriet Remarked.

~ 0 ~

"That's me! Harriet, that's me!" Rose pointed at herself, sighing.

"I'll just boost the signal," Harriet had said.

Suddenly, Martha's face appeared in the fourth square, "Hello?"

~ 0 ~

The Torchwood team laughed with relief at the sound of her voice.

"Martha Jones!" Jack cried happily.

~ 0 ~

"Who's she?" Rose frowned in annoyance, "I want to get through!"

"Martha, where are you?" Jack asked.

"I guess Project Indigo was more clever than we thought," Martha smiled, "One second I was in Manhattan, next second I was at home. Maybe Indigo tapped into my mind, because I ended up in the one place that I wanted to be," the screen showed Francine beside her.

Francine looked at her daughter, "You came home. At the end of the world, you came back to me."

"But all of a sudden, it's like... the laptop turned itself on?" Martha asked.

"It did," Harriet Jones nodded, "That was me," she flashed her ID to the screen again, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, I know who you are," Martha smiled.

~ 0 ~

"I thought it was about time we all met, given the current crisis. Torchwood - this is Sarah Jane Smith," Harriet introduced.

"I've been following your work. Nice job with the Slitheen..." Jack said to Sarah Jane.

"Yeah, well, I've been staying away from you lot. Too many guns," Sarah Jane nodded to Luke's direction.

"All the same... might I say, looking good, ma'am."

"Really? Oh!" Sarah Jane said in a pleased manner.

"Not now, Captain," Harriet Jones cut in, "And Martha Jones, former companion to the Doctor."

~ 0 ~

"Oi! So was I!" Rose indignantly cried to the screen.

~ 0 ~

"And Minerva," Martha made sure to add, not about to let her best friend be forgotten, "But how did you find me?"

"This, ladies and gentlemen, this is a subwave network," Harriet explained, "A sentient piece of software programmed to seek out anyone and everyone who can help to contact the Doctor."

"What if the Daleks can hear us?"

"No! That's the beauty of the subwave. It's undetectable."

"And...you invented it?" Sarah Jane was impressed.

"I developed it. It was created by the Copper-Peth Foundation."

"Yeah, but what we need right now is a weapon," Jack cut in, "Martha, back there at UNIT, what did they give you? What was that key thing?"

Martha showed them the key in her hand, "The Osterhagen Key."

"That key is not to be used, Doctor Jones. Not under any circumstances," Harriet used a serious tone, like she knew exactly what that key was used for.

"But what is an Osterhagen Key?" Jack asked, still confused.

"Forget about the key! And that's an order. All we need is the Doctor."

"Oh, excuse me, Harriet, but well, the thing is... if you're looking for the Doctor, didn't he depose you?" Sarah Jane felt a bit bad of reminding the woman of that small detail.

"He did. And I've wondered about that for a long time, whether I was wrong. But I stand by my actions to this day, because I knew - I knew that one day, the Earth would be in danger and the Doctor would fail to appear. I told him so myself, and he didn't listen."

"But I've been trying to find him. Minerva, she's got my phone in the TARDIS but I can't get through," Martha said, "And Minerva _always_ answers."

~ 0 ~

"Nor me, and I was here first," Rose remarked, still peeved. Why was no one mentioning her? She went to another dimension, not disappeared into thin air!

~ 0 ~

"That's why we need the subwave - to bring us all together. Combined forces. The Doctor's secret army," Harriet said.

"Wait a minute," Jack thought, "We boost the signal - that's it! We transmit that telephone number through Torchwood itself, using all the power of the rift..."

"And we've got Mr Smith!" Luke called, " He can link up with every telephone exchange on the Earth. He can get the whole world to call the same number, all at the same time. Billions of phones calling out, all at once!"

"Haha, brilliant!" Jack exclaimed, "Who's the kid?" he asked, nonetheless still smiling.

"That's my son!" Sarah Jane proudly said.

Ianto was shuffling through in front of the screen, "Excuse me, sorry," he said to Jack and Gwen before he stood in front now, "Sorry. Hello. Ianto Jones. Um, if we start transmitting, then the subwave network is going to become... visible. I mean, to the... Daleks."

"Yes, and they'll trace it back to me, but my life doesn't matter. Not if it saves the Earth," Harriet said, serious.

Jack stood to attention and saluted, "Ma'am."

"Thank you, Captain. But there are people out there, dying. On the streets. Now, enough of words. Let's begin," she started typing on the key board.

The Torchwood team dashed from terminal to terminal, aiding Harriet.

"Rift power activated," Jack called.

"All terminals co-ordinated," Gwen helped Ianto with a bunch of wires.

Ianto connected them to a column that rose up into the water feature outside the Millenium Center, "National Grid online - giving you everything we've got!" he declared and the machinery whirred with power.

~ 0 ~

Sarah Jane and Luke were busy up with the controls of Mr. Smith.

"Connecting you to Mr Smith!" Sarah Jane called.

"All telephone networks combined!" Luke added.

The screen now displayed a map of the UK with red spots indicating the networks.

~ 0 ~

Martha picked up her phone, "Sending you the number... now!" she pressed enter and the number dialed.

~ 0 ~

"Opening subwave network to maximum," Harriet said.

~ 0 ~

Sarah Jane and Luke stepped back, ready to let Mr. Smith take over.

"Mr Smith... make that call," Sarah Jane saud.

The number was displayed on the screen, "Calling... the Doctor."

~ 0 ~

Rose had her own cellphone and was also aiding, "So am I."

~ 0 ~

"And... sending!" Jack pushed a lever and stood back as a ring of electric blue light traveled slowly up the column...up and out...

~ 0 ~

Inside the TARDIS, Martha's cellphone began ringing.

Minerva lifted her head and looked up at the Doctor, "That's a phone..." she shuffled out of his arms, "PHONE!" she cried and hurried over.

"Oh my god, a phone?" Zohar looked at Donna, wasn't the entire box a phone?

"Martha, Martha, Martha! Is that you!? That's you right!?" Minerva had already answered the phone, the Doctor right beside her.

"It's a signal," the Doctor took the phone from her.

"Can we follow it?" Donna asked.

"Oh, just watch me," he pulled out a stethoscope and handed the phone back to Minerva to hold while he pressed the end of the stethoscope to it

~ 0 ~

Equipment in Torchwood exploded, let sparks fly and was in chaos...

Jack stood at the computer, shouting above the noise, "I think we've got a fix!"

~ 0 ~

"Mr Smith now at two-hundred percent!" Sarah Jane exclaimed, "Oh, come on, Doctor! Minerva!"

~ 0 ~

Rose, Sylvia, and Wilf stood together in the living room, each dialing the number on their phones. Rose held hers high above her head, whispering, "Find me, Doctor," she closed her eyes, "Find me."

~ 0 ~

"Got it! Locking on!" the Doctor called, pulling the lever of the console. It sent a shuddering nose that made everyone fall all over the place again, sparks flying from the console.

~ 0 ~

Jack motioned Ianto to take his place at the terminal, "Harriet, a source has locked onto your location. They've found you."

~ 0 ~

"I know, I'm using the network to mask your transmission. Keep going!" Harriet continued her work, even through the big blast a Dalek made on the side of her house. She didn't care, she had to finish her job.

~ 0 ~

The whole console has gone into flames as the TARDIS shook violently.

"It's hot, it's very, very hot!" Minerva whimpered, having trouble breathing.

"We're travelling through time! One second in the future! The phone call's pulling us through!" the Doctor exclaimed, unable to hear her as he stood on another side of the console.

Zohar forcefully crawled closer to Minerva, putting an arm around her shoulders, "Breathe," she instructed, her hand raising a little.

Minerva felt the cold wind hit her face, feeling it like a blessing. She closed her eyes and simply let it take over her for the moment.

~ 0 ~

Harriet pressed one last button then looked at the screen, "Captain, I'm transferring the subwave network to Torchwood. You're in charge, now. And tell the Doctor from me: he chose his companions well," Jack nodded with a sad smile, "It's been an honor."

Three Daleks smashed through her window and so she stood to meet them face to face. She strode forward and flashed her ID card at them one last time, "Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister."

"Yes, we know who you are," a Dalek said.

"Oh, you know nothing of any human. And that will be your downfall."

"Exterminate!"

~ 0 ~

"THREE! TWO! ONE!" the Doctor shouted at the top of his lungs.

The TARDIS hurdled towards the now visible Earth through the transmission, the rest of the planets becoming visible one by one. Inside the box, the fire had died down and it was completely still.

"Did we find them?" Minerva asked, Zohar helping her to her feet. She felt a lot better now thanks to Zohar, she just hoped nothing like that would happen again.

"The twenty-seven planets!" the Doctor hurried over to her and took her to the monitor.

"But why couldn't we see them?"

"The entire Medusa Cascade has been put a second out of sync with the rest of the universe. Perfect hiding place, tiny little pocket of time. But we found them!" a whirring sound began up, the monitor screen blurred out slightly, "Oh, oh... what's that? Hold on, hold on..." he turned a knob and peered into the monitor, "Some sort of... subwave network."

The image cleared up and everyone saw the grid of webcams appear on the screen, only now the TARDIS group replaced Harriet Jones' square.

~ 0 ~

Jack laughed at the sight of them, and then grew angry, "Where the hell have you been?!" he exclaimed then returned to his normal safe, "Doctor, it's the Daleks!"

"Ooh, he's a bit nice. I thought he'd be older," Gwen remarked of the Doctor.

"He's not that young," Ianto added.

~ 0 ~

"It's the Daleks! They're taking people to their spaceship!" Sarah Jane exclaimed, hers and Martha's voice jabbered over one another.

~ 0 ~

"They sound like you," Minerva whispered to the Doctor, amused.

"But it's not just Dalek Caan!" Martha had said.

~ 0 ~

"That's Donna!" Sylvia spotted the ginger woman that was her daughter.

"That's my girl!" Wilf proudly said.

Rose had said nothing, she was just overly impacted to see the Doctor again. She was so close to seeing him again, so close!

~ 0 ~

"Sarah Jane! Who's that boy? That must be Torchwood. Aren't they brilliant?" the Doctor looked at Minerva who just nodded, "Look at you all, you clever people!"

"Oh Martha, there you are, how's the job going?" Minerva had to ask, she really hadn't heard much from Martha for a while now.

"Wait, who's..." Donna had a mischievous face as she pointed to Jack on the screen, "...he?"

Zohar peered over and nodded in agreement, "Oh, yes, please tell."

"Jack don't you dare," Minerva immediately pointed, "That's my ginger sister and friend."

~ 0 ~

"Doctor, it's me. I came back," Rose whispered from her side, knowing of course she wouldn't be heard.

~ 0 ~

"It's like... an outer-space Facebook!" Donna exclaimed.

"What's a Facebook?" Zohar curiously asked.

"Everyone except Rose," the Doctor mumbled.

Minerva looked to the side, having heard that little mumble. She couldn't be upset by his wish to see her again. To him, Rose was still untainted and a good friend...she just hoped Rose wouldn't ruin it or she herself do something.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS monitor turned to white noise again, making the four squares disappear.

"Oh, what happened?" Zohar asked.

The Doctor turned a knob, "No, no, no, no, no! There's another signal coming through, there's someone else out there," he bashed the top of the monitor, " Hello? Can you hear me? Hm, could be Rose?" he watched the monitor for a moment.

"Your voice is different, and yet, its arrogance is unchanged," Davros voice emerged instead.

Minerva noticed how the Doctor immediately froze, like terror.

~ 0 ~

Davros allowed himself to be seen through the screens, "Welcome... to my new Empire, Doctor."

"Oh..." Donna stepped back in revulsion.

Minerva was also a bit uneasy, but the Doctor was still frozen with fear, while Zohar looked at the screen with a hard, glaring look.

"It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection and the triumph of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race."

"Doctor?" Minerva looked at her Martian.

"Have you nothing to say?" Davros asked, a hint of pride in the tone used.

"Doctor, it's all right. We're... we're in the TARDIS. We're safe," Donna tried reminding him.

"But you were destroyed..." the Doctor shook a bit as he looked at the screen, "In the very first year of the Time War, at the Gates of Elysiem. I saw your command ship flying into the jaws of the Nightmare Child. I tried to save you..."

"But it took one stronger than you. Dalek Caan himself."

Dalek Caan's voice emerged from the background, in an insane singsong from his place on a plinth, looking deformed and mutated, "I flew into the wild and fire. I danced and died a thousand times!"

"Emergency temporal shift took him back into the Time War itself," Davros explained.

"But that's impossible, the entire War is time-locked," the Doctor frowned.

"And yet, he succeeded. Oh, it cost him his mind, but imagine - a single, simple Dalek succeeded where Emperors and Time Lords have failed. A testament, don't you think, to my remarkable creations?"

"And you made a new race of Daleks."

Minerva felt a queer feeling in her stomach, unable to tell what it meant. She felt nervous, but she felt afraid, but she also felt...angry? Shouldn't she be more terrified than anything?

"I gave myself to them. Quite literally. Each one grown from a cell of my own body," Davros pulled his leather suit open to reveal his rotten, emaciate form, his ribs and heart visible, "New Daleks. True Daleks. I have my children, Doctor. What do you have, now?"

"After all this time... everything we saw, everything we lost... I have only one thing to say to you. BYE!" the Doctor pulled a lever down and cut the creature off.

~ 0 ~

Jack was darting around the place busily, getting ready with a phone to his ear.

"Gwen! Dalek saucer heading for the Bay. They've found us," Ianto rushed away.

"Martha, open that Indigo device! Now, listen to me: lift the central panel. There's a string of numbers that keep changing," Jack was speaking through his phone while he picked up a large gun, "But the fourth number keeps oscillating between two different digits. Tell me what they are."

"It's a four and a nine. We could never work out what that was."

Ianto helped Jack into his jacket, Jack a bit more glee than he should be, "That's a teleport base-code, and that's all I need to get this thing working again," Jack adjusted his wrist device, "Oscillating four... and nine. Thank you, Martha Jones," he flipped his phone shut while Gwen handed him his gun, "I've gotta go. I've got to find the Doctor. I'll come back," but Gwen and Ianto kept silent, "I'm coming back!"

"Don't worry about us. Just go," Gwen nodded.

"We'll be fine," Ianto assured.

"You'd better be," Jack teleported away.

"Gwen and Ianto exchanged a fearful glance. As a loud crash sounded from above, they held onto each other, rubble falling over them. They crept forwards and listened...

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Gwen, resigned, simply said, "They're here."

~ 0 ~

" _TARDIS heading for vector seven. Grid reference: 665..._ " Mr. Smith was saying as Sarah Jane rushed arouns, getting ready.

"There are Daleks out there!" Luke exclaimed to her.

Sarah Jane pulled her coat on, "I know. I'm sorry, but I have got to find the Doctor!" she grabbed her keys, "Don't move. Don't leave the house. Don't do anything."

" _I will protect the boy, Sarah Jane_ ," Mr. Smith assured.

"I love you. Remember that," she gave a stifled sob then hurried on out.

~ 0 ~

Rose paced in the Noble's living room while she spoke on the phone, "Control? I need another shift. Lock me onto the TARDIS. Now,"she flipped the phone closed and turned to Wilfred and Sylvia, "Right! I'm gonna find him," she grinned, "Wish me luck!b

"Oh, good luck!" Sylvia exclaimed.

"Yeah, good luck, sweetheart!" Wilfred nodded.

Rose disappeared in a binding flash of blue light.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS materialized outside a church. The road was completely solitary save all its chaotic objects sprawled around. There were cars crashed left everywhere, alone. The streets had sprawled trash and an uncanny silence except the bark of a lone dog.

"No one's answering home," Minerva trembled as she stepped out of the TARDIS after the Doctor and Donna, "No one..."

"Maybe they're hiding," Zohar offered.

But Minerva nearly scoffed, there was no point in acting like nothing would happen, "Yeah... _hiding_."

"It's like a ghost town," Donna breathed at the sight of the street.

"Sarah Jane said that they were taking the people. But what for?" the Doctor turned to Donna, urgently, "Think, Donna. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"

"Just... the darkness is coming," the ginger lightly shrugged.

"Anything else?"

Donna thought for a minute more when something behind him caught her eye, making her bite her lip in an uneasy way, "You can ask her yourself, you know..."

The Doctor looked at her confused then followed her gaze behind him...to see Rose at the far end of the street. The blonde was smiling brightly as ever, utter joy. Minerva peered around the Doctor, curious herself and breathed shakily at the sight.

"M-Minerva look," the Doctor reached back for her arm, "It's Rose, it's _Rose_..." he trembled with joy and disbelief.

"Yup, it's her..." Minerva looked up at him and sighed, "...you should go see her first," she whispered, forgetting all her fear and nervousness when she saw how _happy_ he was, "Go on, I'll go second..."

As if on cue, Rose broke into a run towards them, and a couple seconds later went the Doctor.

"Why did you do that?" Zohar frowned, misunderstanding why her princess would purposefully put herself in pain?

"Look at him," Minerva gestured ahead, her gaze stuck on the running Martian, "He's _so_ happy..."

But her happiness didn't last very long when she saw something coming out of the shadows...

"Exterminate!" a Dalek glided out.

Rose gasped in horror while the Doctor barely had time to turn around when he was shot by the Dalek. It skimmed his chest and made him fall flat on the ground.

"NO!" Minerva screamed and dashed for her fallen Martian.

Jack appeared in a flash of blue light and with an impressively quick surmise of the situation used his gun on the Dalek and blew it's top of.

Rose dumped her gun aside and fell to her knees beside the Doctor, cradling his head in her hands, "I've got you. It missed you. Look!" she smiled shakily, "It's me, Doctor."

The Doctor, barely conscious, was able to smile at her, "Rose."

"Hi," she whispered.

"Long time no see," he weakly remarked.

"Yeah. Been busy, you know," she joked but the Doctor started convulsing, "Don't die. Oh, my God, don't die. Oh, my God, don't die."

"Martian, no!" Minerva had dropped beside him, barely able to retain her trembles.

"Get him into the TARDIS, quick. Move!" Jack called as he, Donna, and Zohar reached them.

Zohar pulled Minerva to her feet while Jack and Donna helped the Doctor. Jack picked up Rose's gun and looked around for anything else that might pop up.

Rose and Donna laid the Doctor on the TARDIS grill where he twice and moaned in pain. Minerva wrestled out of Zohar's arms and rushed up to him. But it was Rose who held him with tears in her eyes.

"What- what do we do? There must be some medicine or something!" she looked around for anything.

"Just step back," Jack called as he threw the guns on the chairs beside the console, "Rose, Minerva, do as I say, and get back!" but neither women moved, "He's dying, and you know what happens next.

"What do you mean?" Donna stood, confused.

"He's going to regenerate," Minerva swallowed, staring at her Martian.

"But you can't... not now, I came all this way," Rose whispered to him.

The Doctor held his hand, all staring including him as it glowed with the orange light.

"It's starting," he said as his whole body started glowing.

"No," Minerva practically pulled Rose off him and clung onto him like her life depended on it.

"C'mon, Minerva," Zohar tried pulling the brunette away from the Doctor. It seemed her human strength had been exchanged with that of a Moontsay, making it even harder to get her up.

Jack, however, pulled Rose away with ease over to a safe distance along with Donna, "Here we go! Good luck, Doctor!" he called.

"Minerva...Kaeya, LISTEN!" Zohar nearly broke into shouts, startling Minerva with the use of her birth name, "You may not remember how this goes but we can't be near when a regeneration happens. C'MON!"

"I'll be waiting for you," Minerva whispered to the Doctor before she allowed Zohar to pull her back with the rest.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Donna asked.

"We talked about this, Donna, remember?" Minerva tried speaking calmly but her voice was still shaking, "Regeneration? The changing of the face? This is why it happens, because he's dying and his body is trying to repair itself."

"He's gonna change right now?" Donna blinked.

"But you can't," Rose called, in tears.

"I'm sorry. It's too late. I'm regenerating!" the Doctor stood up with just enough time to give them all a quick glance. His arms flung wide open and the orange energy erupted from his skin, emerging through his neck and sleeves.

Zohar raised her hand and made a soft, blue wall appear in front of the group and herself for protection. Rose squinted through the blaze and wall to see what would emerge next.

The Doctor suddenly directed his energy towards his hand in the jar. The jar bubbled and glowed as the energy flowed inside of it. The Doctor stopped regenerating and stumbled back, breathless...and still the same man.

Everyone just gaped.

"Now, then. Where were we?" he darted to the console, unaware of the stunned looks he received.

~ 0 ~

Sarah Jane awaited for the Daleks to shoot, "Exerminate!"

"Exterminate!"

Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler appeared in flashes of blue light on either side of Sarah Jane's car. Each holding a gun, they shot the Daleks and blew them apart.

"Mickey...!" Sarah Jane, in a tremble state, got out of her car.

"Us Smiths have got to stick together," Mickey reminded.

"Jackie Tyler, Rose's Mum. Now, where the hell is my daughter?" Jackie demanded.

"And, if possible, my best friend," Mickey added.

~ 0 ~

Gwen and Ianto fired incessantly at the Dalek inside, doing no damage at all of course. Suddenly, everything, including the bullets just _stopped_. They crept forwards, in disbelief and amazement, and Gwen reached out with a finger to touch one of the bullets in midair. The air rippled out from her finger as if there was an invisible wall.

"...what the hell?" she whispered, awed.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was on his hands and knees before his jar with his hand inside, still bubbling and glowing away.

"There, now," he blew on it gently, the jar calming down and stopping it's glow and bubbling. He smiled delightedly and sat up, "You see? Used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to, why would I?" he tweaked his tie, "Look at me! So, to stop the energy going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle - namely, my hand. My hand, there. My handy spare hand," he stood up completely and looked at Minerva and Rose, "Remember? Christmas Day? Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight? That's my hand!" Rose looked from the Doctor to his hand, back and forth with uncertainty, "What do you think?" the Doctor focused on Minerva for that part.

While they'd of course discussed regeneration, it didn't stop him from being nervous of how his Clever Girl would react the day he turned into a new man. He supposed now he could understand what she had been feeling this whole time with the process. And while he had always assured he'd love every last new detail of her, he couldn't help wonder if she would love all his new details when the time came to change again. Even know, still the same man, he was nervous of what she might do or say...

"You're alive!" Minerva cried and rushed up to him.

He picked her up in a tight hug and was greeted by an urgent kiss. To him, it meant the world to know she wasn't rejecting him...but to _Rose_...well...

"Hold on..." the blonde breathed, her eyes wide.

The pair pulled away, both wearing small smiles. As usual, the Doctor finished it up with an Eskimo kiss that made Minerva giggle.

"You're alive, you're here," Minerva whispered, her eyes teary, her hands on either side of his face.

"Of course, I couldn't go anywhere, I have a Clever Girl to attend to," he smiled and set her on her feet.

He looked up and saw the soft smiles on Donna and Zohar, the formal nod of Captain Jack...and then the utter confused face of Rose.

"Rose," he grinned, absolute joyful that he could really see her again in the flesh.

Minerva quietly gasped when she recalled that small detail. She turned around, feeling so truly _awful_ of what she had just done. That...that was _not_ the way Rose needed to find out. She deserved to be sat down and explained...not give her the spectacle she'd just seen.

But the Doctor really was quite oblivious that he just went ahead and took Rose for a hug, entirely missing the contorted face of pain Rose wore, "It's really, really, really, good to see you again!" he exclaimed, gripping her tight, "What am I saying good? It's fantastic!" he laughed.

Rose, despite her confusion, gripped back and buried her head in his shoulder, eyes screwed shut. This was what she had returned for, for what she had worked so much to achieve. She was back with the Doctor, back in her real universe...

"Rose, I..." Minerva didn't even know how to form words anymore. Rose's eyes snapped open and immediately took the form of a glare that made Minerva shut down and step back.

"You know, you can hug me, if you want," Donna had turned to Jack who just laughed. Donna was more than serious though, "No, really, you can hug me."

Zohar quickly walked over to Minerva's side and gave her a side hug while the brunette just looked down in an attempt to avoid Rose's glare. However, she missed the dark glare of daggers _Zohar_ shot Rose that made the blonde a bit uneasy. Zohar didn't know how Minerva's life had been for the past 19 years and with that blonde but she was no longer alone.

~ 0 ~

Gwen and Ianto were investigating at the computer terminal for their sudden frozen bullets.

"It's a time-lock. The ultimate defense program," Ianto pointed, "Tosh was working on it. Never thought she'd finished it, but she did. The Hub's sealed in a time-bubble. Nothing can get in."

"But that means we can't get out," Gwen said.

"Nope. Not without unlocking that Dalek. We're trapped inside. It's all up to Jack, now," Ianto sighed.

~ 0 ~

Four Daleks surrounded the TARDIS outside.

"Report: TARDIS has been located," one of them said.

"Bring it here. Bring the Doctor to me. Initiate temporal prison!" the Supreme Dalek ordered.

Each Dalek stood at each corner of the TARDIS and surrounded it in a thin hoop of spinning blue light.

"Temporal prison initiated."

The blue light swarmed inside the box...

~ 0 ~

The group was gathered around the console when the power cut out.

The Doctor shuffled around the console as he tried several buttons, "They've got us. Power's gone... some kind of chronon loop!" there was a great crash which made the TARDIS tilt dangerously to one side.

~ 0 ~

Sarah Jane, Jackie and Mickey crept behind a van watched the Daleks around the TARDIS.

"Transferring TARDIS to the Crucible!"

The TARDIS lifted skywards by the a circle of blue light and into the direction of the Dalek ship.

"Those teleport things... can we use them? If they've taken the Doctor to the Dalek spaceship, then that's where we need to be," Sarah Jane looked over to Mickey.

"It's not just a teleport, it's a Dimension Jump. Man, this thing rips a hole in the fabric of space," Mickey had taken out a medium sized button out of his pocket.

"But can we use it?" Sarah Jane impatiently asked.

"Not yet, it burns up energy. Needs half an hour between jumps," Mickey put it away.

"Then, put down your guns," she ordered.

"What?!"

"If you're carrying a gun, they'll shoot you dead," she stepped out from behind the van, her hands raised in surrender, "Daleks? I surrender."

"All humans in this sector will be taken to the Crucible!" one of the Daleks said.

"She's bloody mad," Mickey remarked.

"Yeah, but Mickey - if they've got the Doctor, then they've got Rose," Jackie reminded and put her gun down as well, raising her hands as she walked out as well, "And us. We surrender!"

Mickey sighed, "Boy Minnie, you better be there too," he kissed his gun and threw it to the ground, joining the women in surrender.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS, meanwhile, glided inexorably towards the Dalek ship.

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the center of the planets," Jack was saying to the group, "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

"If you said those planets were like an engine..." Minerva looked at the Doctor, "...what exactly would it be used for?"

He quickly remembered and looked at Rose, "Rose! You've been in a parallel world, that world's running ahead of this universe - you've seen the future, what was it?"

Rose flinched as she heard her name being called, her focus having been on Minerva ever since the TARDIS had started moving. She just could not believe that she ever felt sorry for her behavior before being sent off into the parallel world. She truly had come with the intention of apologizing to Minerva for blaming her for something that wasn't her fault plus her attitude when she believed Minerva may have had some feelings for the Doctor (which, after Mickey had told her Minerva's actual intentions, had made her laugh at herself for being so stupid). And now, she'd witnessed the brunette go ahead and jump on the Doctor and _kiss_ him! It really put some things in perspective for Rose. She had been right, she had always been right! Poor Mickey had been fooled by that clever woman, same thing for her mum. Minerva played to be the innocent, poor abandoned woman and when in reality she was a deceiving, manipulative woman! How could she have been so...stupid, to believe Mickey? She'd spent all that time in the parallel world thinking of the perfect apology for Minerva, coming up with ways that she could make up for such awful treatment...while in the meantime Minerva had wiggled her way into the Doctor's life.

"Rose?" the Doctor called again.

"Huh?" the blonde shook her head quickly, remembering she'd been called, "Oh, um, it's the darkness."

"The stars were going out," Donna remarked.

"One by one. We looked up at the sky and they were just dying," Rose said then looked at the Doctor, a small smile spreading on her face, "Basically, we've been building this um... this travel machine, this... uh... Dimension Cannon, so I could... well, so I could..."

"What?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows.

"So I could come back!" she explained, blushing as the Doctor smiled, "Anyway, suddenly, it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse. Not just in our world - not just in yours - but the whole of reality, even the Void was dead. Something is... destroying everything."

"In that parallel world..." Donna spoke again, making Rose turned to her, "...you said something about me. You and Kaeya..."

"The Dimension Cannon could measure timelines, and it's... it's weird, Donna, but they all seem to converge on you."

"But why me? I mean... what have I ever done? I'm a temp from Chiswick!" Donna exclaimed, bemused at such an idea.

The computer bleeped which made the Doctor hurry over and see, "The Dalek Crucible. All aboard..."

~ 0 ~

Inside the Crucible, several Daleks moved forwards where the TARDIS had arrived.

"The TARDIS is secured!" one of them announced.

"Doctor! You will step forth or die!" the supreme Dalek called.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was watching the door cautiously, "We'll have to go out. 'Cos if we don't, they'll get in..."

Minerva put a hand over her stomach, having that uneasy feeling forming in the pit of it, "But...you said nothing can get through those doors..."

"You've got extrapolator shielding," Jack reminded.

The Doctor turned to them all, "Last time we fought the Daleks, they were scavengers and hybrids and mad. But this is a fully fledged Dalek Empire... at the height of its power. Experts at fighting TARDISes, they can do anything. Right now, that wooden door... is just wood."

Donna stood apart from the group, staring ahead again. She couldn't quite listen to them as everything started fading again, all she was hearing instead a heart beating...louder and louder...

"What about your Dimension Jump?" Jack turned to Rose.

"It needs another twenty minutes, and anyway, I'm not leaving," she said firmly, looking at Minerva for that last part, not that the brunette had noticed.

Minerva was too focused on her own feelings. She felt like she could tremble, and it wasn't from fear. _That's_ what made her confused. She knew there were millions of Daleks waiting outside, waiting to _kill_ her...and she wasn't afraid. She was...she didn't even know. That was a huge difference from the last time she'd seen Daleks in New York.

"What about your teleport?" the Doctor looked at Jack.

"Went down with the power-loss," Jack answered.

"Right then. All of us together... yeah," the Doctor looked at Minerva and Donna, both out of tune with the conversation, "Oi, Minerva? Donna?" Minerva snapped out of her trance for a bit, just enough to give a nod that she'd listen, even if she hadn't, "Are you alright?" he moved over to her.

"Mhm," she nodded and looked back to Donna, noticing how bad the ginger was unlike her, "But I don't think Donna is."

The Doctor nodded and headed to Donna. Donna was still staring straight ahead with her eyes moist, mouth open, and her head full of that heartbeat, "Donna?" the Doctor set his hands on her shoulder, succeeding and snapping her out of the trance as well.

"Yeah," she whispered, even if she had no idea what he was saying.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing else we can do."

"No, I know," she nodded.

The Doctor returned, stopping by Minerva's side and giving her a kiss on the head.

~ 0 ~

Outside awaited the Daleks, the supreme Dalek speaking again, "Surrender, Doctor, and face your Dalek masters."

"Crucible on maximum alert!" another Dalek shouted.

~ 0 ~

"Daleks," Rose nervously laughed as she looked at around, "Hah..."

"Oh, God!" Jack joined in on the laugh, both watching the Doctor.

The Doctor looked at everyone and gave a slight nod, "It's been good, though, hasn't it? All of us... all of it... everything we did..." he looked at Donna, "You were brilliant," the ginger smiled and he moved on to Jack, "And you were brilliant," he then looked to Rose, "And you were brilliant," the blonde sadly smiled and he looked down at Minerva, "You were absolutely brilliantly clever."

Minerva gave a small smile, "Only because of you, Martian," she sighed.

He took her hand and tried to lead her to the door but she stepped back. He just half-smiled, understanding she was probably overly terrified and wanted to be in the back. He could understand. He turned to the door and opened them up, stepping out with Rose and Jack.

"Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!" the supreme Dalek chanted.

~ 0 ~

Inside, Donna slowly walked for the doors, thinking of going out with Minerva and Zohar but she paused when she heard that heartbeat again.

"You feel something awful in your stomach, don't you?" Zohar made to go out the door but suddenly turned to Minerva, Minerva surprised she'd figured it out, "I know, I have that too," she said sadly, her hands over her stomach.

"Why is that? It's like...I know I'm supposed to be terrified, but..."

"You're sad?"

Minerva titled her head in confusion, how could she know that?

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack looked around at the enormous ship, filled with chanting Daleks, "Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks! Daleks reign supreme! All hail the Daleks!"

"Behold, Doctor. Behold the might of the true Dalek Race," the supreme Dalek said.

~ 0 ~

Donna turned back to the console, her brow furrowed. She looked up and saw the blue light making circles above the console.

"How do you know that?" Minerva asked Zohar, "I've never felt that before. Last time, I was _really_ terrified..."

"Because you were just a human," Zohar stepped forwards, looking her dead in the eye, "The Daleks killed my parents...and they killed yours too."

Minerva's eyes widened, "Wh-what?"

"What you feel right now, is because your subconscious remembers that those monsters murdered our parents. You're not afraid, you're _angry_."

Minerva remained in place, taking her words in, blinking rapidly as she tried truly hard to remember that.

"I'm sorry," Zohar turned and headed for the doors.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva? Zohar? Donna? It's no safer in there..." the Doctor called, a bit tensed that Minerva still hadn't stepped out.

Zohar stepped out, face full of dagger glares as she stared at the Daleks, "I'm not afraid," she declared and joined the group."

~ 0 ~

Donna shook herself a bit and turned back for the door, "Let's go Minerva."

But Minerva remained still, a single tear strolling down her cheek.

When Donna linked arms with her, the doors of the TARDIS shut...

~ 0 ~

The Doctor spun around at the sound of the doors slamming and hurried back.

~ 0 ~

Donna was already banging on the doors, "Doctor!?" she rattled the handle, "What've you done!?"

~ 0 ~

"It wasn't me, I didn't do anything!" he called from the other side, also struggling with the door.

"Oi! Oi, We're not staying behind!" Donna shouted, looking back at Minerva, "And...and something's wrong with Minerva! What's going on!?"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor angrily glanced back at the supreme Dalek with one hand on the door and handled, "What did you do? Let them out!"

Zohar quickly ran back to the TARDIS, trying to jiggle it open as well, "Minerva?" she called.

"This is not of Dalek origin," the supreme Dalek answered back.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted from the other side, banging on the door.

"Stop it! My girlfriend and friend are in there! Now, open the door and let them out!" the Doctor furiously ordered.

"This is Time Lord treachery!" the supreme Dalek came out with instead.

"Me!?" the Doctor frowned, "Me?! The door just closed on its own!"

"Nevertheless: the TARDIS is a weapon and it will be destroyed."

And promptly, the TARDIS fell through a trapdoor that opened underneath it.

~ 0 ~

Inside the box, Donna and Minerva stumbled about as they plummeted through a long tunnel. But even then Minerva wouldn't utter one yell. It seemed to Donna like the woman was in...shock?

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Zohar stared down the trapdoor in horror, "What're you doing?! Bring it back!" the Doctor shouted at the Daleks.

~ 0 ~

Donna hung onto the railings for support, "Doctor!" she yelled, Minerva fell forwards.

~ 0 ~

"What've you done!? Where's it going!?" the Doctor entered a state of panic and urgency. His Clever Girl and her ginger sister were down there!

"The Crucible has a heart of Z-Neutrino Energy. The TARDIS will be deposited into the core," the supreme Dalek said.

"But you can't," Zohar's voice broke, dropping to her knees as she stared down the dark pit the trap door had, "...there's no defenses anymore..."

The Doctor was now in horror, "It'll be torn apart!"

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS landed into the core that was more like a burning ball of fire...

Inside, the lights of the console smashed while small fires were springing up around the grilling, making both women scream.

"Hot..." Minerva breathed, more like gasped as she felt her air begin to thin around her.

~ 0 ~

"But Donna and Minerva are still in there!" Rose moved towards the supreme Dalek.

All feelings set aside, Minerva...didn't deserve to die. After all, Minerva had risked her life once for her in Torchwood. She was angry not evil.

"Let them go!" Jack angrily yelled.

~ 0 ~

Minerva yelped and landed against the side of the console chairs while Donna crouched down by the console, also giving small screams and shielding herself from the small explosions. She looked up and saw the blue light was still with them, "Help us, friend," she tried calling, only coughing in the end.

But the light continued to make circles up above.

~ 0 ~

"The females and the TARDIS will perish together! Observe," the supreme Dalek declared.

A holographic screen appeared above the group that showed the TARDIS simply bobbing in the energy. The Doctor moved forwards, his face full of dread. He had once again failed, he simply could not keep his Clever Girl safe at all could he?

"The last child of Gallifrey is powerless," the supreme Dalek said.

~ 0 ~

Minerva coughed violently as smoke took over the air, "It's _too_ hot..." she tried breathing but it was of no use anymore, there was nothing left to breathe that wasn't hot.

A little ahead of her, Donna choked on the smoke as well even while she tried her best to cover her mouth and nose.

~ 0 ~

"Please. I'm begging you, I'll do anything!" the Doctor implored to the supreme Dalek, "Put me in their places! You can do anything to me, I don't care, just get them out of there!" he shook in fury in frustration and fear.

He couldn't watch Minerva once again die in the pits of fire, and now she'd die with Donna too?

~ 0 ~

Donna was beside the Doctor's hand in the jar, still coughing and panting from the awful air. She couldn't look back anymore to see what happened to Minerva, but she knew that the air was turning extremely, viably hot that she just...wouldn't be able to resist for much longer. Suddenly, Donna stopped at the sound of that pesky heartbeat again. An ethereal glow from the Doctor's hand reflected onto her face.

Minerva could see Donna begin to reach for the jar, "No, Donna..." she breathed lightly, using all her remaining force to push herself away from the chair and towards her ginger sister, "Meta-crisis..." she whispered, reaching for Donna, "...no..." she put a hand on Donna's arm just as the ginger had touched the jar.

The orange regeneration energy engulfed the women but blasted Minerva to the wall. There was a cracking sound from her necklace as she landed on her knees. She fell to the floor on her side, her necklace breaking open at the second blow from the ground.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor watched the screen through gritted teeth, seeing no possible way Minerva or Donna could survive this. Minerva had managed to escape death _twice_ and this...this was just impossible. He'd lost her forever and it was his fault again.

"You are connected to the TARDIS. Now, feel it die," the supreme Dalek said.

Zohar moved up, her eyes watery as she stared at the screen.

~ 0 ~

Donna found herself almost immune to the destruction of the TARDIS and so hurriedly crawled over to Minerva who laid on the floor with her eyes closed. Donna lifted Minerva's hand and felt no pulse, making her eyes widen. But then she saw small waves of a darker blue color and silver light coming up from her broken necklace.

"What the..." Donna followed the light up, and saw the regular blue light rushing down.

The two lights swirled together morphing into one...and then rushed inside Minerva's body.

"No!" Donna shouted, knowing what that could mean to her clever sister, "You get out of there!" she gripped Minerva's hand as she waved her other hand over Minerva as if fanning the light out. It was too early for any of that to be happening! Who knows what it could do to Minerva!

Instead, Donna saw how the blue light started making its way over to _her_ hand... _her_ arm, "Wh-what are you doing?" she trembled as she felt a prickly cold ice start at her hand.

Behind her, unaware, the Doctor's hand was completely engulfed with the orange energy. Its fingers twitched for a second or two before the energy spread outwards from the hand and into the shape of a man.

"St-stop..." Donna's voice broke as the light engulfed her entirely.

When the orange energy's shape was fully formed it sat up abruptly. The energy shook off from it and revealed a second Doctor with wide eyes and completely naked. At the same time, Donna dropped on her side on the floor, opposite of Minerva.

"Oh...no," the new Doctor blinked at the sight.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! Woah, it's been quite some weeks. Finals have begun and with extra force . Hopefully that excuses my lack of updates...

But uh oh? What's happened to Minerva? _and_ Donna? It was specifically said the process had to finish on its own pace...hmm...what do you think will occur? ;)

 _For Reviews:_

Aw, really? Eek, I feel embarrassed because I feel like my beginning chapters had quite the grammatical errors...so sorry for that lol. Fave OTP? Oh, why thank you! I feel so special now ^.^

Well as we saw Rose wasn't pretty happy with what she saw ._. and trust me, they'll have a discussion in the next chapter...wonder what will be said ;). As of right now, my plans are to write that during 11's time :). Actually, for 12, I do kinda have an idea for a cameo but that would be during 11, probably season 7. Hope you have patience for it lmao ^.^

Until next week then, and if I don't update before Thanksgiving, have a good one and eat lots of turkey! (or in my case, tamales, yum!)


	21. The Awakened Princess

As they watched the TARDIS be destroyed, Rose moved closer to the Doctor and took his hand. He was motionless now, uncaring who was near him, who touched him, who made a sound...all he saw was his Clever Girl and his friend dying...and he couldn't do anything to help them.

"Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five!" the Daleks had started a countdown for the total destruction of the TARDIS.

~ 0 ~

The new Doctor reached for a button on the console with his teeth gritted and wild eyes.

~ 0 ~

"Four! Three! Two! One!"

The TARDIS faded away without anyone noticing.

~ 0 ~

"The TARDIS has been destroyed. Now, tell me, Doctor... what do you feel?" the supreme Dalek asked, nearly taunting. The Doctor was watching the screen with a dark expression, "Anger? Sorrow? Despair?"

"Yeah..." he whispered.

Words were not enough to describe the monumental hole he felt inside at the moment. His little piece of happiness, stuck inside his other piece of happiness had been murdered...could anything describe that sort of pain? Beside the Doctor stood Zohar who watched the screen with a different expression. She tilted her head, feeling over her heart a quaint spark...her eyes darted from one side to another as her mind processed.

"Then, if emotions are so important, surely we have enhanced you," the supreme Dalek continued.

"Yeah? Feel this!" Jack turned and short the supreme Dalek, the bullets merely bouncing off the Dalek with no effects.

"Exterminate!" the supreme Dalek shot Jack who screamed in pain and fell to the floor, seemingly dead.

Zohar's mouth fell open while Rose fell to her knees beside the immortal man, unaware of that fact, "Jack! Oh, my God. Oh, no..."

The Doctor knelt beside her, "Rose..." he spoke in a hushed tone, "Come here, leave him."

"They killed him," she said.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Escort them to the Vault," the supreme Dalek ordered, "They are the playthings of Davros, now."

The Doctor pulled Rose away, looking at Zohar and holding his hand out for her, perhaps in the world only she could possibly understand the pain he felt at the moment.

"I'm gonna kill them," was all Zohar had to say before she took his hand.

The Doctor ignored that little statement and looked back at Jack who laid on the floor "dead". The immortal man winked and kept his charade.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS glided away from the Crucible in peace. The new Doctor, who was now wearing blue suit trousers and a burgundy shirt, stood on the railings and mended a part of the TARDIS near the door. He jumped off and pulled his blue jacket on, turning for the women on the floor. He sighed and moved over to them, bending down beside Donna. He took her wrist and felt for a pulse, thankfully finding one that was increasing its strength. He set her wrist and moved on to Minerva. He lifted her wrist and felt for a pulse, thankfully also growing stronger, but a beat _too_ strong unlike Donna's...that couldn't be good either.

~ 0 ~

"Activate the holding cells," Davros commanded down in the vault. Holding cells that had the image of spotlights were cast over the Doctor, Rose and Zohar who stood a few feet from one another. Davros rolled over to the Doctor, "Excellent. Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained."

"Still scared of me, then?" the Doctor touched an edge of his holding cell with his palm and made the cell ripple with blue light.

Rose did the same and glanced at Zohar. She raised an eyebrow, confused of the position the black-haired woman had taken in her cell. Zohar sat on the floor with her legs crossed, one hand over her heart as she stared straight ahead. It seemed like she was in a trance or something!

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long..." Davros began.

"No, no, no, no, no. We're not doing the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now, 'cos the Supreme Dalek said 'vault', yeah?" the Doctor looked around the place, his patience and his tolerance down to a zero, his Clever Girl was gone and yet here he was, trapped by some stupid man - if Davros could eve be ranked as one anymore, "As in, dungeon. Cellar. Prison. You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have... an arrangement."

But the Doctor laughed in a sardonic, cold, mocking manner, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've got the word. You're the Dalek's pet!"

Davros simply rolled over to the Rose instead of listening to the Doctor, "So very full of fire, is he not? And to think, you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel to find him again...only to find your place taken by another woman."

"Leave her alone," the Doctor ordered.

"She is mine. To do as I please," Davros said.

"Then why am I still alive?" Rose asked, almost mocking.

"You must be here. It was foretold. Even the Supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophesies of Dalek Caan," Davros pressed a button on his control panel that threw a light into Dalek Caan's platform.

The insane Dalek spoke in a singsong manner again, "So cold and dark. Fire is coming... the endless flames..."

"What is that thing?" Rose looked at the Doctor, a bit repulsed.

"You've met before. The last of the Cult of Skaro. But it flew into the Time War, unprotected," the Doctor answer.

"Caan did more than that. He saw Time," Davros said, "Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And... he saw you. All three of you."

"This I have foreseen in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious Children of Time!" Dalek Caan giggled.

"Obviously this prophecy is hell," Zohar muttered, casting a dark look at the insane Dalek, "I am not a Child of Time, I am a Moon Child you psychotic repulsive trash."

"The Moon Child will die!" Dalek Caan then said, as if merely adding on of what he heard.

"Oh, and now you wanna scare me, good luck!" Zohar shouted, standing up and banging on her cell.

"Was it you, Caan? Did you kill Donna and Minerva?" the Doctor added on to Zohar's shout, his anger boiling inside. That last phrase didn't settle well with him. The only thing he wanted to do now was, well...kill them all, "Why did the TARDIS door close? Tell me!"

"Oh, that's it! The end, the fire, the rage of a Time Lord who butchered millions. There he is. Why so shy? Show your companions... show them your true self," Davros was more than delighted to gesture, "Dalek Caan has promised me that, too."

"I have seen it. At the time of ending, the Doctor's soul will be revealed," Dalek Caan confirmed.

"What does that mean?" the Doctor asked.

"We will discover it together... our final journey. Because the ending approaches. The testing begins," Davros turned away.

"Testing of what?"

"The Reality Bomb. Behold... the apotheosis of my genius," Davros used his control panel to activate a holographic screen display the testing chamber for the others.

"...two, one, zero. Activate planetary alignment field!"

~ 0 ~

Inside the TARDIS, the new Doctor felt the box shudder and quickly moved over to the monitor, "It's the planets. The twenty-seven planets."

Unaware to him from behind, a silver and blue light started rising from the two unconscious women on the floor.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor watched the screen with intent and horror as the planets aligned in space were bathed in a white glow, "But that's Z-Neutrino Energy. Flattened by the alignment of the planets into a single stream. No!" he turned to Davros in sheer panic again, "Davros. Davros, you can't! You CAN'T! NO!"

~ 0 ~

The new Doctor watched the monitor while resting his chin on his hand as he tried to work the dilemma out, "Single-stream Z-Neutrinos compressed into..." he faltered when the idea struck him, "No. No way..."

~ 0 ~

Before their eyes, the trio saw the humans clambered inside the room _dissolve_ into pure atoms form head to toe.

~ 0 ~

"What the hell is going on?" the new Doctor heard a very feisty ginger from behind, creating a double shock for the man between the planets and the ginger's appearance.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor watched the holographic screen with utter shock.

"Doctor, what happened?" Rose asked, shaken up as well.

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler," Davros answered, knowing the Doctor would not be able to speak for a few more seconds, "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality Bomb cancels it out - structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter."

"The stars are going out..." Rose recalled the dark skies.

"The twenty-seven planets... they become one vast transmitter. Blasting that wavelength..." the Doctor began, swallowing hard.

"Across the entire universe. Never stopping. Never faltering. Never fading," Davros wickedly laughed, "People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms and the atoms will become... nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!"

~ 0 ~

"Is that what Time Lords do? Lop a bit off, grow another one? You're like worms!" Donna was currently shouting inside the TARDIS, one of her hands on her head, the new Doctor just staring at her with wide eyes, "I'm talking to you!"

"I'm unique..." he began, his eyes wandering to her hair, " Never been another like me! Because all that regeneration energy went into the hand..." he raised his hand absently for the ginger to see, "But then you touched it and it was an instantaneous biological metacrisis. I grew... out of you. Still, could be worse."

"Oi! Watch it, spaceman!"

"Oi! Watch it, Earth-girl. Oh! " the new Doctor found his voice had matched Donna's completely. They both stared at each other with identical 'Oh' shaped-mouths, "I sound like _you_! I sound all... all sort of, rough."

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Oi!"

"Must've picked up a bit of your voice, that's all. Is it? Did I? No. Oh! You are kidding me, no way! One heart..." the new Doctor felt his chest, having just now realized something incredibly important, "I've got one heart! This body... has got only one heart!"

"What?" Donna raised an eyebrow, feeling an enormous headache beginning at the side of her head where her fingers currently rubbed, "So what, you're like human now?"

"Oh, that's disgusting."

"Oi!" Donna pointed...and sprung a small line of snow at the man's face. Donna blinked and gaped with an open mouth, "Did I just...?"

The new Doctor shook the snow off his face and shoulders with an irritated sigh, though not very surprised, "Yes, now control that woman!"

"But...but..." Donna looked between him and Minerva, "...I'm not... _she's_ the...but..."

The new Doctor set a hand on Donna's shoulder, earnestly speaking his next words, "Part Time Lord, part human," he pointed at himself, "Part Time Lord, Part Human...part Moontsay," he pointed at Donna.

"Hold on..." Donna thought for a second, "...so then that would mean..." she slowly looked back at Minerva.

"To be fair she already was part Time Lord, somewhere deep inside her genetics..."

"But... _I'm_ the one that kept hearing that noise, that um," Donna thought of the right word, "...heartbeat!"

"That was _my_ heartbeat, thank you very much. 'Cos I'm a- complicated event in time and space, must've rippled back. Converging on you," he stepped back, "And _you_ initiated everything. Donna Noble you may have just saved the world."

"But why me?" the ginger didn't understand.

"Because you're special," the new Doctor matter-of-factually shrugged.

"Look, I've gained some new confidence in myself, yes, but there really is nothing special about me. I've learned that that's okay now."

"No, but you are, you..." he said, smiling at the absurdity of it, "Donna Noble you have all that attitude, all that lip, always shouting at the world cos you think no one's listening and because you've always thought you simply were not worth it."

"Stop," she swallowed hard.

"Woman, have you _seen_ yourself right now?" he gestured to her, "You're not even fully _human_ anymore! You didn't even realize it, but you were always headed down this road...you were _meant_ to be here...you came to the TARDIS. And you found Minerva and I again. You did the search on Minerva first. Even your granddad! Your car! Donna, your car! You parked your car right where the TARDIS was gonna land, that's not coincidence at all! We've been blind! Something's been drawing us together for such a long time. All three of us..." he cast a look at Minerva, a glow around her beginning.

"But you're talking like... destiny," Donna sputtered, "But there's no such thing... is there?"

"Donna, your hair is full of ice, you clothes are full of ice and you're shooting snow at people..." he started laughing, "...this is destiny!" but his laughter started to fade as he held his head and thought more, "Oh, but it's still not finished. It's like... the pattern's not complete. The strands are still joining together. But heading for what?"

~ 0 ~

"Incoming transmission. Origin: planet Earth," a Dalek announced.

"Display," came the order of the supreme Dalek.

Martha Jones appeared on the holographic screen, still inside the Osterhagen Station of Germany, "This is Martha Jones representing the Unified Intelligence Taskforce on behalf of the Human Race. Can you hear me?"

"Send transmission to the Vault. Continue to monitor," the supreme Dalek said.

~ 0 ~

The vault now displayed a holographic screen of Martha, "This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat: can you hear me?" she kept asking.

"Put me through!" the Doctor ordered.

"It begins as Dalek Caan foretold," Davros proudly said.

"The Children of Time will gather... and one of the Moon children will die!" Dalek Caan sang.

" _You're_ the one that's gonna die when I get out of here!" Zohar banged on her cell.

"Doctor! I'm sorry. I had to," Martha sighed, reclaiming the attention.

"Oh! But the Doctor is powerless - my prisoner. State your intent," Davros instructed.

Martha held up the Osterhagen Key, "I've got the Osterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone, or I'll use it."

"Osterhagen what? What's an Osterhagen Key?" the Doctor asked.

"There's a chain of twenty-five nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the Earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate and the Earth gets ripped apart."

The Doctor blinked, replaying those words to see if he had actually heard right. His mind was occupied by his guilt and his Clever Girl and her death and...he could not think straight. Martha couldn't have said that...but he was pretty sure she had, "What? Who invented that?! Well - someone called Osterhagen, I suppose - but Martha, are you insane?!"

"The Osterhagen Key is to be used if the suffering of the Human Race is so great, so without hope... that this becomes the final option," Martha breathed, not proud of what she was going to do.

"That's _never_ an option!" the Doctor half-shouted.

"Don't argue with me, Doctor," Martha said abruptly, "'Because there's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these twenty-seven planets for something, but what if it becomes twenty-six? What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"

"She's good!" Rose said, half-smiling with impression.

"Who's that?" Martha asked upon the new voice.

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler."

Martha's eyes narrowed instantaneously, "Oh god... _you._ "

Rose frowned at the sudden sour tone Martha now gave, the Doctor confused instead. It almost sounded like Martha wasn't _happy_ that Rose was there.

"Where is Minerva?" Martha demanded, even more serious. She saw the Doctor's eyes look down, Rose's looking around and Zohar's face grim, "Doctor..." Martha called again, swallowing, "...where...is...Minerva?"

"...the princess is..." Zohar breathed, "...she's..."

~ 0 ~

"Second transmission internal," a Dalek announced.

"Display," came the following order.

A second holographic screen appeared beside Martha's, only this one contained Jack holding the Warp Star connected to several wires, surrounded by Mickey, Sarah Jane and Jackie.

"Captain Jack Harkness calling all Dalek boys and girls! Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off," Jack pointed to the necklace.

~ 0 ~

Rose stared in amazement at Jack, "He's still alive! Oh, my God, that's- that's my mum!"

"And Mickey - Captain, what are you doing?" the Doctor dreaded to ask.

"I've got a Warp Star wired into the mainframe," Jack replied, "I break the shell... the entire Crucible goes up."

"You can't! Where did you get a Warp Star?!"

"From me. We had no choice, we saw what happened to the prisoners," Sarah Jane sighed.

"Impossible. That face... after all these years," Davros was actually surprised to see the brunette woman on the screen.

"Davros," Sarah Jane whispered, growing furious, "That's been quite a while. Sarah Jane Smith. Remember?"

"Oh, this is meant to be. The Circle of Time is closing. You were there on Skaro at the very beginning of my creation."

"And I've learned how to fight since then. You let the Doctor go or this Warp Star - it gets opened!"

The Doctor couldn't look at any of his friends anymore...

"I'll do it," Jack tweaked the necklace threateningly, " Don't imagine I wouldn't."

Rose laughed, "Now that's what I call a ransom," but when she looked at the Doctor's grim face she stopped laughing, "Doctor?"

"And the prophesy unfolds," Davros said.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed!" Dalek Caan cackled, "See him! See the heart of him!"

Rose watched the Doctor, feeling useless in comforting him while she stood in her own cell. The Doctor looked down, completely silent and feeling solitary as ever. He needed his Clever Girl beside him, using those sweet smiles that could make him forget all the unbearable guilt he always carried. She'd assure him that he wasn't that dark, cold man he knew for a fact he was. But when she said it, he could believe it. He could see in her eyes that to _her_ , he was the complete opposite. And that made him feel better, to know that there was one person who would always see his brighter, better side. And she wasn't even _breathing_ anymore...

Zohar gasped suddenly, loudly, and put a hand on her heart again, that quaint feeling not so quaint anymore.

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor: you take ordinary people and you fashion _them_ into weapon. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this," Davros presented the Doctor to the screens.

"They're trying to help," he mumbled ineffectually.

"Already, I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor. The Earth woman who fell opening the subwave network."

He looked up, "Who was that?"

"Harriet Jones," Rose answered, seeing that stunned face, "She gave her life to get you here."

"How many more? Just think. How many have died in your name?" Davros asked, forcing the Doctor to remember all those people that died because of him...

There was Jabe...the Controller...Lynda...Sir Robert from Torchwood...Mrs. Moore...Mr. Skinner's face...Ursula...Bridget...the Face of Bo...Chantho...Luke...Jenny...River...Sky...

And more recently, Minerva and Donna.

"The Doctor... the man who keeps running, never looking back, because he dare not, out of shame. This is my final victory, Doctor. I have shown you... yourself," Davros gestured to the poor Doctor who did not answer a word.

Zohar, however dire the situation, was smiling like a complete idiot, her hand patting over her heart, mumbling words to herself that caught Rose's attention. Eventually, the Doctor heard the faint carryover of those words and recognized them...

...it was the greeting prayer of the Moontsays…a greeting for a _royal_ Moontsay.

~ 0 ~

On the planet of Nix Terra, several Moontsays ignored the deadly danger surrounding them and dropped to their knees. Adults, teenagers, children were on their knees with their arms opened to the sides and eyes shut, all mumbling the same words Zohar was saying.

Their princess was returning.

~ 0 ~

The new Doctor had been putting together some type of contraption in the TARDIS in an eerie silence. Donna had returned to Minerva's side and hadn't uttered a word.

"So, what is that thing anyways?" Donna finally spoke, Minerva's hand in hers. She could feel a prickly cold growing in strength between their hands, and while it did scare her a little, she wasn't afraid.

"It's our only hope. A Z-Neutrino biological inversion catalyser," the new Doctor replied.

"Yeah. Earth-girl, remember?"

He screwed in some of the parts of the device while he explained, "Davros said he built those Daleks out of himself. His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I can use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself..."

"It destroys the Daleks?" Donna blinked...and then felt woozy...

"Biggest backfire in history," the new Doctor grinned for a second...until he felt the temperature decrease rapidly, "Oh, that is _cold_ ," he dropped everything and trembled, "Is this what it feels like to be human? That is pitiful!" he was even more surprised to hear no more complains from Donna, "Donna?" he turned around.

He'd much rather turn around just then...

Minerva stood to her feet, her eyes narrowed with her face bathed in a dark, cold expression. She glowed brightly in a silver and blue light that was the source of the rapid temperature decrease. Even as she held hands with Donna, the ginger only glowed a minimum, not emitting as much cold as her friend.

"I am alive," Minerva let go of Donna's hand and took several steps forwards, "And I am **ANGRY**!"

~ 0 ~

"Enough. Engage defence zero-five," the supreme Daleks voice carried over to the vault.

Martha still held the Osterhagen key in her hand, aloft, "It's the Crucible... or the Earth."

"Transmat engaged!" a Dalek shouted.

Suddenly, Martha was snatched from the Osterhgaen station in a beam of white light, "No!" the key fell to the floor while she appeared in the vault.

The transmat also took Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey and Jackie, the Warp Star falling to the ground while the group appeared in the vault.

"Martha! I've got you, it's all right," Jack helped Martha up to her feet.

"Don't move! All of you! Stay still!" Rose quickly exclaimed, looking between Zohar and the Doctor, utterly confused.

The Doctor stared intently at Zohar, his eyes a bit shiny, while the black-haired woman continued mumbling those odd words to herself, now on her knees with her arms opened and eyes closed.

"Guard them! On your knees, all of you. Surrender!" Davros ordered.

"Do as he says," Rose added. She was a bit irritated that the Doctor wasn't even paying attention to any of them because of this stranger who stood beside her cell. What was so important that he had let it all go?

Daleks glided around the group as they knelt down with their hands behind their heads.

"Mum, I told you not to!" Rose sighed to her mother.

"Yeah, but I couldn't leave you," Jackie shot back.

"The final prophesy is in place. The Doctor and his children all gathered as witnesses. Supreme Dalek... the time has come!" Davros' voice shook with excitement, "Now..." he pointed up, "Detonate the Reality Bomb!"

~ 0 ~

Fleets of Dalek ships were lined up around the Crucible and a door to the side opened up with the great Reality Bomb.

~ 0 ~

"Activate planetary alignment field!" the supreme Dalek ordered.

~ 0 ~

All the planets began shimmering and glowing again.

~ 0 ~

"Universal reality detonation in two-hundred rels!" the supreme Dalek said.

~ 0 ~

"You can't, Davros! Just listen to me! Just STOP!" the Doctor shouted, having half his attention now back onto them and the other still on Zohar.

Davros roared with laughter, "Nothing can stop the detonation! Nothing! And no-one!"

~ 0 ~

"Okay, yes, I understand completely where your anger is coming from..." the new Doctor was backing away as Minerva followed him, her eyes still narrowed as ever, the monstrous expression not fading, "...but there's this thing I-I created, made, that can defeat the Daleks and..."

"You don't understand!" she shouted, trickles of her light spewing out from her body with her shout, "They _have_ to die! They have to _pay_ for what they did!"

"Okay, and I'd be glad to do that for you...if you let me actually pass through the door," the new Doctor pointed behind her.

"I can do it!" she snapped, "Right now, I have all power I need to end the Daleks!"

"Right, but, I'm pretty sure usage of those powers could be deadly for you at the moment! If you die you can't really do much from there...can you?"

She considered it for a moment, unaware of the low sigh of relief the new Doctor heaved. He was actually quite afraid of her now. At first he thought just like his counterpart, she was quite beautiful...but then he met this version, the true version of her and, well...he was terrified beyond belief. He supposed that was his human instincts kicking in...and she was no longer human.

"Do it," came Minerva's cold order, "You get once chance and then _I_ will act," she walked back to Donna and took her hand again.

"What exactly have you done to her?" the new Doctor cast a look to the motionless ginger.

"I am healing her," Minerva answered, "We all know what the meta crisis would've done, my necklace has acted on it. She'll be just fine."

He nodded and picked up his device, kicking the console lever upwards with his foot and pulled another one, making the TARDIS tilt sideways.

~ 0 ~

In the vault, everyone was in shock to hear the wheezing sound of the TARDIS, to feel the gentle wind they had all once felt in their lives.

The Doctor breathed, "That's...that's...the..." his hearts beat faster and faster at the growing sound of the TARDIS and the fact that Zohar had finished her prayer and stood to her feet. He had heard those words before, those words, that prayer, once in his lifetime...very long ago...by one special woman.

"Impossible," Davros glared ahead to the silhouette the TARDIS was making as it materialized.

The new Doctor stepped out of the fully materialized TARDIS with a binding backlight.

"Brilliant..." Jack was awed yet impressed, definitely a twist of events.

The new Doctor ran towards Davros who had rolled backwards moments earlier. The original Doctor, a bit taken aback by _that_ appearance, quickly called to the new man, 'Don't!"

Davros pointed at the new Doctor and electricity shot out to strike the man on the chest. The new Doctor fell on the floor in a wind, yet unharmed.

"Activate holding cell," ordered Davros and immediately the new Doctor was surrounded in a cell.

Donna stepped out of the TARDIS feeling quite hazed, her head was a bit jumbled up but she'd remembered the new Doctor's words about the device that was to be used against the Daleks. She'd snapped out of Minerva's little trance a few seconds ago and had quickly gotten the impression that Minerva wasn't quite herself as she claimed she was going to murder every last Dalek in existence. So, Donna had quickly made an argument where she would aid the new Doctor and Minerva would stay in the TARDIS where it was safe...and where she could possibly _think_ better on her desired actions. She feared Minerva's head was jumbled up with all the remaining memories and emotions and it was impairing her ability to think rationally. The Minerva she knew wouldn't hurt a fly, much less be intent on murdering an entire species.

"Doctor!" she called, hurrying up to the fallen device on the floor and picking it up, " I've got it! But I don't know what to do!" Davros used the same electricity on her, making her drop the device once more to the floor.

"Donna!" the original Doctor called in terror as he saw the ginger land across the Vault, "Donna! Are you all right, Donna?!"

"Destroy the weapon!" Davros ordered.

~ 0 ~

Inside the TARDIS, Minerva held her head with a contorted face of pain, "No, no, no, not yet, please..." she could feel once again her breathing thinning, the cold stinging every part of her body, "...I have to...have to...stay longer..."

~ 0 ~

The device was destroyed by a death-ray from a Dalek and promptly exploded.

"I was wrong about your warriors, Doctor. They are pathetic," Davros spat.

"How comes there're two of you?!" Rose looked between the two Doctors.

"Human biological metacrisis. Never mind that, now we've got no way of stopping the Reality Bomb," the original Doctor dismissed the blonde, most of his gaze stuck on the TARDIS. Yes, he knew the universe was about to destroyed, but...but _Minerva_ was in that box...and she wasn't coming out...

"Detonation in twenty rels! Nineteen..."

"Stand witness, Time Lord. Stand witness, Humans," Davros called, activating a holographic screen that displayed the 27 planets, "Your strategies have failed, your weapons are useless, and... oh - the end of the universe is come."

"Nine... eight... seven... six..."

Slightly breathless, Donna opened her eyes which flashed blue for a second, finding herself far away from the others, "Oh...that's new..." she smirked and pulled herself upright behind a control panel.

"Five... four... three... two... one.."

The bomb suddenly powered down with the screens even going dead. Instead, an alarm started to blare, making everyone look around in confusion.

"Oh... closing all Z-Neutrino relay loops using an internalized synchronous back-feed reversal loop!" Donna flicked a switch from her station with ease, loving the stunned faces she was getting, "That button there!" she pointed.

"Donna, you can't even change a plug!" the Doctor blinked at her, quite bemused.

"Do you wanna bet, Time Boy?" she raised an eyebrow.

"You will suffer for this," Davros warned.

"You don't _ever_ hurt my ginger sister," Minerva stood at the threshold of the TARDIS, bathed in her blue and silver blinding light, "Ever," she held her hand towards the creature and twisted it, freezing his arms completely, "And I wouldn't try getting out of that," she stepped out, "Or I'll freeze what ever it is that keeps you alive."

"Exterminate her!" Davros shouted, shifting in the ice. As if something as measly as water would ever stop him?

"Minerva, no!" the Doctor banged on his cell, but the woman seemed unperturbed.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" a Dalek started gliding for Minerva, a second one on her other side.

Minerva swung her left arm to the left and slashed the Dalek on that side open, all the way through to its actual form. The creature dropped to the floor, in _half_. She flung her right arm to the right and did the same to the second Dalek, leaving the armor in half as well as the actual body.

"Minerva, stop!" Donna called, petrified as she looked at her clever sister.

"What's going on?" Martha frowned, that was _not_ her best friend. That was just...gruesome killing...

"She's remembered her pain..." Zohar blinked, her tears overtaking her eyes. Everyone had turned to look at her with expectancy of an explanation, "...it was the Daleks that killed her birth parents...they were killed on the last day she was an alien. I reminded her right before..." she covered her mouth with guilt.

"Minerva, listen to me," the Doctor banged on his cell, "Not you too, you're not a murderer. You don't...you don't have to do this..."

"Bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion," Donna called, deactivating all the Dalek's weapons, "Minerva there's no point in killing them anymore, they can't hurt us, see?"

"No, every single last one of them have to _die_..." Minerva's voice trembled, her hands extended towards Davros, "...starting with their creator."

"Donna de-activate these cells RIGHT NOW!" the Doctor shouted, "Minerva, don't! Someone stop her! She'll regret it, stop her!"

These were the exact emotions he didn't want Minerva to feel, but the process had been forcefully finished and these were the consequences. What concerned him most was how she would be able to heal... _if_ there was a way to heal.

Mickey and Martha quickly ran towards their best friend while Donna worked on the holding cells.

"Do it girl, can you really destroy?" Davros taunted the brunette.

"I wouldn't talk, I am quite literally bursting with power," Minerva gritted her teeth, holding her hands to the side where the steam of her ice was coming out from. She could feel her skin begin to burn at certain spots but she had to keep going, she still had to do this. She had to last!

"Minerva, c'mon, stop all this," Martha took hold of her from one side while Mickey the other.

"Get away," Minerva snapped, shaking off the pair's hands, "I'm in no control of this and I don't want to hurt you. I'd much rather hurt _them_!" she turned to the side where more Daleks were. While they couldn't hurt anyone they still had to die. She flung her arm again, slashing them to death.

"Minnie you can't do that, they're defenseless now, it's useless," Mickey reached out for her but felt a stinging death coldness rifting from her. He really had no bloody idea what was going on with his best friend but all he knew was that she was in danger and had to be stopped, "Ow!" he and Martha suddenly jerked away from her at a stinging sensation on their hands.

"It's that light," Martha mumbled, looking back at the Doctor, "We can't touch her!"

"DALEKS COME DOWN AND FIGHT!" Minerva screamed, no one able to see her tears forming in her eyes.

She could remember it now, her parents disintegrated bodies; lying on the ice, the Daleks threatening to kill her as well...she could see it perfectly now. She had felt so defenseless against those awful creatures, so powerless to do anything to help her parents or family or friends or kingdom. But now, for a couple minutes, she had the power to end every last Dalek in the world. She just needed to be able to last for those few minutes...she needed to...

She continued on her pathway, slashing things here and there, uncaring if they were Daleks or not. Anything Dalek made had to be destroyed.

"Holding cells deactivated," Donna urgently called, "Doctor, _do_ something!" she quickly then sealed the Vault as well, "And oi, you new Doctor or whatever, come here and help!" she motioned for the human Doctor to hurry over while his counterpart dashed after Minerva.

"Stop them! Get them away from the controls!" Davros shouted.

"And...spin," Donna flicked a switch, making all the Daleks spin in circles.

"Help me. Help me," the Daleks cried as they spun uncontrollably on the spot.

"With pleasure," Minerva slashed down another pair.

"Minerva, stop this!" the Doctor reached for her arm and hissed at the stinging cold, "Ow, that actually _hurt_ ," he frowned, "Like the necklace..."

He couldn't even touch her without being harmed!?

"No one can touch me without dying," informed Minerva, knowing very well that she herself was dying by using so much power like this.

"But that's harming you too!" he tensed, "I know it is...so stop it!"

"I can't...they have to die..."

Zohar stood where her holding cell had been, staring at Minerva...feeling so awful. _She_ had reminded Minerva of what the Daleks had done and now she was going on a killing spree. Zohar thought that she would gladly kill every last Dalek but seeing Minerva actually doing it...it...it didn't seem right...

"No, they don't..." the Doctor said, sadly staring at his Clever Girl, her back to his, "...Minerva you remember what you said a long time ago? You didn't want to be a murderer like Vespiform. Look at this? It's what you're doing. Stop it."

"They have to die!" she insisted, "They killed my parents, they..." his hearts broke at the first sound of her sniffles, "...they disintegrated them in front of me, before my eyes..."

The Doctor took a deep breath and marched up to her, making her stumble forwards with the great hug he gave her from behind. He suppressed his pain as best he could while he wrapped his arms around her, forcefully restraining her from continuing, "You may have lost your birth parents but you still have a family down here, down on Earth. You have your adopted father now, remember? He's working really hard to get your affection back. You have an uncle who traveled the world to find me for _you_. You have a grandmother who would bake snicker doodles for the rest of her life if you asked her. You have your best friends, hey, one even returned from a parallel world! You have your ginger sister too! And you have _me_. I'm still here and I plan to be here for a very long time. We love you, _I_ love you. Stop all this and come back with me to the TARDIS. Come back my Clever Girl."

Minerva breathed heavily in a shaky manner, looking down at her hands with horror. She broke into sobs the moment she realized what she had been wanting to do. She dropped to her knees with her violent sobs, Doctor coming down with her, still holding onto her.

The others stared at them, the room filling with melancholy as Minerva's sobs became louder. Those were the sobs of a terrified woman, and to those who knew, the cries of a mourning woman.

"What is happening? Explain!" the supreme Dalek's voice carried down to the Vault again.

Jack had darted inside the TARDIS and emerged with his gun and Rose's.

"Come on then, human boy, we've got twenty-seven planets to send home. Activate magnetron," Donna wiggled her fingers.

"Stop it at once!" Davros, pointed his finger at them again. The ice had melted off immediately as the light around Minerva had died off.

"Doctor...I can't take it anymore..." Minerva looked back at him, feeling even more awful when she saw the small burnt spots around his face and hands because of _her_.

"I know, it's the pain, you've remembered..." he nodded but she shook her head.

"...the process, it didn't finish..." she reminded, her eyes beginning to close, "...I can't withstand it," her voice trembled, "It's too much power, too many thoughts…I can't…"

His eyes widened when he realized what she was trying to say, "N-n-n-no, you can do it. You've gone longer now, you can do it. You-you just have to focus really hard."

"I can't sort it...I'm burning inside and yet I'm so cold..." Minerva fell back against his chest, unconscious.

The Doctor picked her up in his arms and turned around, and upon seeing the unconscious brunette Martha and Mickey ran over. Without hesitating, the Doctor deposited Minerva into Mickey's arms, "Get her in the TARDIS."

"But what are you going to do?" Martha frowned at the action.

"We need to get out of here as fast as we can so that I can take her to the Monsoon," he kissed Minerva's forehead.

"I am just going to say that I am severely confused," Mickey remarked to the two.

"You're best friend is an alien princess, there's not much to be confused about," the Doctor said then quickly ran to help Donna and the other Doctor.

"C'mon!" Martha tugged him towards the TARDIS.

Jack held his gun to Davros's face, "Just stay where you are, Mr."

Rose and Sarah Jane pushed a Dalek away between them.

"Good to see you again!" Sarah Jane exclaimed to the blonde.

"Yeah, you too!" Rose nodded, a bit absently as she looked over to the Doctor now with Donna and the other Doctor.

~ 0 ~

"Okay, no, seriously, what is going on?" Mickey demanded as he set Minerva carefully on the console chairs.

"What the Doctor said, she's actually an alien princess with her own kingdom," Martha explained.

"Is she a rich princess?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Oi, you are not gonna use her for your advantages!" Martha laughed and pointed at him.

"I mean if she'd spared a little exotic diamond or something..."

They stared at each other with a smile where Martha felt herself blush suddenly.

"I'm Martha," she held her hand out for him.

"Mickey," he shook it.

In the end, they both looked at Minerva instead, feeling a bit...weird...a good kind of weird.

~ 0 ~

"Off you go, Clom," the original Doctor exclaimed, twisting a knob on the control panel.

"Back home, Adipose Three!" the new Doctor twisted another knob.

Donna flicked two switches with her hands and another with her foot, "Shallacatop! Pyrovillia! The Lost Moon of Poosh. Nix Terra. Topping. Ha!"

"We need more power..." the original Doctor said, looking at the controls to see how he could get it.

Rose walked towards the trio with a rather demanding look, "Is anyone gonna tell us what's going on?"

Donna gestured over to the original Doctor, "He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand, I touched the hand," Donna gestured to the new Doctor, "He grew out of that, but that fed back into me and Minerva. But, for some reason..." she grew a bit confused as it really was a part she didn't understand quite yet, "...Minerva sort of locked most of it away," the original Doctor looked to the side, understanding why she'd done what she'd done to the ginger, "Froze it actually. I can still feel a bit of a brain-freeze so most of it is still actually dormant inside my head save for that itty bitty part Davros managed to activate."

"But it was enough," the original Doctor said, a small smile on his face.

"So I'm part Time Lord, Part human, and part Moontsay."

"What's that last one?" Rose raised an eyebrow, half-guessing the answer.

"It's what Minerva actually is," Donna replied, "She was in the meta-crisis so I got a little bit of her powers and she got more of me, more human. And I even got the Doctor's mind, the part that's activated anyways."

"More human..." the original Doctor whispered, a little bit of hope sparking inside of him, "...and humans don't need a lot of cold..."

Donna smirked and gave him a nod, "Let's see if my clever sister is clever enough to figure it out."

"You mean to tell me there's _three_ of you?" Sarah Jane pointed at each Doctor then to Donna.

"And two Moontsays!" Donna exclaimed, gasping, "Sisters! Moontsay sisters, oh now I get it!"

"Three Doctors?" Rose raised an eyebrow.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now," Jack called.

"You're so unique that the timelines were converging on you. Human Being with a Time Lord brain and Moontsay abilities," the original Doctor blinked with impression.

"But you promised me, Dalek Caan. Why did you not forsee this?" Davros looked over to Dalek Caan, but the insane Dalek just giggled.

"Oh, I think he did. Something's been manipulating the timelines for ages... getting Donna Noble to the right place at the right time," the original Doctor said.

"This would always have happened. I only helped, Doctor," Dalek Caan said.

"You... betrayed the Daleks?" Davros slowly asked.

"I _saw_ the Daleks. What we have done throughout time and space. I saw the truth of us, Creator, and I decreed "no more".

"I will descend to the Vault!" the supreme Dalek's voice roared in the vault.

"Heads up!" Jack exclaimed.

The supreme Dalek descended into the vault, "Davros, you have betrayed us."

"It was Dalek Caan!"

"The Vault will be purged! You will all be exterminated!" the supreme Dalek sent a death ray towards the central column causing sparks to fly.

"Like I was saying, feel this!" Jack shot the Dalek in half.

The original Doctor examined the central column with a face, "Oh, we've lost the magnatron! And there's only one planet left oh..." he really had to laugh at the luck, "Guess which one. Look, we can use the TARDIS!" he ran inside the TARDIS, immediately checking over to Minerva, "How's she doing?"

Martha and Mickey had remained by their best friend's side and simply shrugged.

"She's shown no signs of heat disturbances yet," Martha said, biting her lip, "Is it really time for her to go now?"

"Go where?" Mickey looked between them.

"Minerva's going to need the cold to survive as an alien and her planet is the only place she can get it from," Martha explained.

"With some luck, Martha, with some luck...she may not have to," the Doctor grinned so hopefully that Martha actually believed him for a second. He quickly pressed some buttons around the console.

~ 0 ~

The new Doctor was flicking switches around the control panel, "Holding Earth stability... maintaining atmospheric shell."

"The prophecy must complete," Dalek Caan declared.

"Don't listen to him," Davros snapped.

"I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen, Doctor," Dalek Caan continued.

The new Doctor was caught by those words, realizing how correct they were, "He's right. Because with or without a Reality Bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the cosmos. They've got to be stopped!"

"Just, just wait for the Doctor," Donna hurriedly said, looking back at the TARDIS.

"I am the Doctor," the new Doctor bluntly said and got to work, "Maximizing Dalekanium power feeds. Blasting them BACK!"

One by one, each Dalek exploded with a scream. Outside, the air was thick with exploding and shrieking Daleks.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor looked up from the console at the commotion and hurried out, "What've you done?!" he yelled at his counterpart.

"Fulfilling the prophecy," the new Doctor replied, quite unperturbed.

~ 0 ~

The Dalek outside the time lock in Torchwood exploded and with it the time lock. Ianto and Gwen shielded their faces for a second.

"There goes the Time Lock," Gwen remarked.

~ 0 ~

Everyone inside the vault toppled around while the new Doctor observed it all with a rather wild expression in his eyes.

"Do you know what you've done? Now, get in the TARDIS!" the original Doctor ordered and so went his version inside the box, "And stay away from my Clever Girl!" he shouted, not for jealousy but for fear of what he could do to the fragile woman. She didn't need to be poisoned with more murderous thoughts. The original Doctor turned to the others, "Everyone! All of you inside, run! In, in, in, in, in!"

The new Doctor ushered every incoming companion from inside the door, "Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Zohar!"

The original Doctor squinted through the fire and saw someone a bit away, "Davros?" he held his hand for him, "Come with me! I promise I can save you!"

"Never forget, Doctor - YOU did this! I name YOU, forever, YOU are the Destroyer of Worlds!" Davros shrieked as he was engulfed in flames.

"One will still die," Dalek Caan made sure to add before the Doctor left.

"Not on my watch," the Doctor muttered and hurried into the TARDIS, "And off we go!" he pulled a lever and the TARDIS shuddered with the shake. He quickly set himself over the chairs to prevent Minerva from falling.

~ 0 ~

Outside, the Crucible exploded into atoms, into nothing.

~ 0 ~

"But what about the Earth? It's stuck in the wrong part of space!" Sarah Jane reminded.

"I'm on it," the Doctor checked to make sure Minerva was fine then moved up to the monitor, "Torchwood Hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?"

"Loud and clear," Gwen's voice replied, "Is Jack there?"

The Doctor glanced at Jack, "Can't get rid of him. Jack, what's her name?"

"Gwen Cooper."

The Doctor studied the woman a bit more, "Tell me, Gwen Cooper, are you from an old Cardiff family?"

Gwen and Ianto shared a glance and Gwen answered with a bit of confusion, "Yes. All the way back to the eighteen-hundreds."

The Doctor nodded in agreement, "Mm, thought so. Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that Rift Manipulator - send all the power to me."

"Doing it now, sir."

"What's that for?" Martha asked.

"It's a tow-rope. Now then, Sarah - what was your son's name?" the original Doctor looked over to the brunette across.

"Luke, he's called Luke. And the computer's called Mr Smith!"

"Calling Luke and Mr Smith!"

~ 0 ~

Luke jumped from his spot in the attic at the sound of the Doctor's voice, "Come on, Luke, shake a leg!"

"Is Mum there?" he quickly looked at the screen.

~ 0 ~

"Oh, she's fine and dandy-"

Sarah Jane laughed with pure relief to hear the boy's voice again, "Yes! Yes!" she called.

"Now, Mr Smith, I want you to harness the Rift power and loop it round the TARDIS, you got that?" the Doctor instructed.

"I regret I will need remote access to TARDIS basecode numerals."

"Oh, blimey. That's gonna take a while," the Doctor made a face.

Sarah Jane darted around the console to the monitor, "No, no, no. Let me! K-9, out you come!"

From the screen, they could see K-9 trundling into the area, "Affirmative, Mistress!"

"Oh, good dog!" the Doctor laughed excitedly, "K-9, give Mr Smith the basecode!"

"Master. TARDIS basecode now being transferred. The process is simple."

"Now then, you lot," the Doctor directed Sarah Jane to her place, "Sarah - hold that. And Mickey - you hold that. Because, you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place? Rose - that, there," he indicated to another control, "It was designed to have six pilots and I have to do it single handed. Martha - keep that level. But not anymore! Jack - there you go, steady that. Now we can fly this thing..." he hesitated with Jackie and simply, hushed, said, "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you," he patted his shoulder and ignored the mock-glare the blonde gave him, "Don't touch anything, just... stand back. - Like it's meant to be flown! We've got the Torchwood Rift looped around the TARDIS by Mr Smith. We're gonna fly planet Earth back home," he took his place at the console, "Right, then! Off we go," he pulled a lever and off they went. He looked back and reached for Minerva's hand, giving it a kiss on its back, "And I'm taking you home, Clever Girl," he whispered to her, frowning when he saw her begin shaking, her eyes struggling to open.

~ 0 ~

Luke clung onto K-9 with delight as the whole place around them shook, the Earth being hauled away home.

~ 0 ~

Gwen and Ianto held on tight as they cheered, ignoring the plaster falling from the ceiling.

~ 0 ~

Wilf and Sylvia held onto each other as they felt the shaking as well, pretty happy with the results.

~ 0 ~

Francine was under a table, holding onto the legs as everything shook around her.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS sped through space with Earth right behind it in a tow.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was happy to see all his companions having fun around the console, except for Zohar who was staring at Minerva from across, the brunette beginning to shake even more.

Minerva only had a couple minutes to survive outside the Monsoon.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS now drifted away from Earth as the planet was set back into its homely place.

~ 0 ~

Inside the TARDIS, everyone whooped and cheered, hugging each other. Donna wrenched Sarah Jane away from Jack and encased him in a hug, poor Sarah Jane stumbling around in confusion. Rose was going to go hug the original Doctor but stopped when he saw him intently caring after Minerva along with the black-haired woman. The brunette was now sitting on the chairs, her arms around herself as she shook violently. And yet, the Doctor was right at her side, trying to soothe her. After everything Minerva had tried to do he was really going to care for her?

~ 0 ~

"Mayar! Mayar! Mayar!" Zohar shouted as she dashed out of the TARDIS.

The elderly man had been in his study room when the blue box started materializing inside. His eyes widened when he saw the Doctor walking out with Minerva in his arms, the brunette violently convulsing.

"What the hell?" Mayar dropped his books and hurried over meeting the Doctor halfway

"She says she can't take it," the Doctor explained with a trembling voice, "She's not withstanding the cold!"

"But that's impossible, it's supposed to the opposite," Mayar frowned.

"There was a meta crisis," the Doctor began just as Donna and the new Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, "A three way meta crisis that involved your granddaughter."

"She took some of my humanity," Donna pointed to herself, "Guess with my heat too..."

"But she took some of me too," the original Doctor said, "And...she took in her essence before the process was actually finished."

Mayar blinked, "Do you care for my granddaughter at _all_?" all that sounded like the Doctor had been completely careless for Minerva's health!

"Mayar, it wasn't his fault," Zohar said, serious, "Without that meta crisis, Minerva would have died. Now help her!"

"I-I don't know! I don't know what happens now!" Mayar exclaimed frantically.

The Doctor felt his world crumble down at those words. Mayar literally was his last hope to help Minerva. He had no idea what the Clever Girl needed to do and when Zohar had suggested Mayar, he became more hopeful. The Doctor dropped to his knees with Minerva in his arms, and looked down at her, "C'mon, Clever Girl. Do something clever."

"I'm sorry, there's nothing to do," she stifled a cry as she turned her head to see the chips of ice forming on the tips of her hair, "...my insides are burning, and I'm too cold, and my mind can't sort the remaining traits. It's tearing me apart!" she screamed in pain and kicked her feet up due to it.

Martha came running out of the box, "Help her!" she shouted to the group, "God, someone help her!"

One by one, the rest of the group inside the TARDIS rushed out to see the poor brunette being cradled by the Doctor. They encircled the pair, staring intently on what would happen next.

"I can't do this anymore...it hurts," Minerva sniffled and looked up at the Doctor above her, "I'm so sorry, but I can't do this."

"You _have_ to!" he whisper-shouted, "You didn't come all this way to give up at the very end."

"But I don't know what do to," she shivered and let out a short yell, "It _hurts_! I can feel it, all my insides are _burning_! Does no one understand!?" she let out an awful shriek of pain that made everyone wince, "Too many contradictions! The cold hurts! The heat hurts! It's KILLING me!"

"Regenerate," Zohar suddenly said, making everyone's eyes turn on her.

The Doctor looked up at Zohar with hesitance, but in looking at his Clever Girl in sheer torture...he knew it was her last option, "Minerva, regenerate," he whispered to her.

"What...?" Minerva blinked for a second, swallowing, "...I-I can't..."

"You said it yourself, you're dying, so...regenerate," he nodded to her, "Give your body a clean slate. You're a Moontsay now, you can do it. You change your face right now, Clever Girl."

"I can't...I don't even know how..."

"You did it once!" Zohar exclaimed, stepping forwards, "Remember? 17 years ago you regenerated into the woman you are today. The queen told you how to do it, so do it again!"

"But we don't even know if it's possible anymore," Mayar reminded, "A first time is nearly impossible and you're asking for a _second_ attempt?"

"You'd rather see her die again?" Zohar snapped, making him quiet down, "Time Lords are born with twelve opportunities to change, well...Moontsays have to be born with at least two right? Minerva, give it a try."

"I can't, I can't," Minerva shook her head, reaching for the Doctor's hand instead, "I love you..."

"N-n-no, don't you even start," he warned her, his eyes watering up as she prepared to speak her last words to him, "You are going to try and regenerate right now."

"I don't have the energy anymore," she breathed in shakily, "I'm just going to die."

"No...you can't..." he shuddered, "...we have so much to do together. We're supposed to have a house? One with proper windows and a door and, hey even a garden."

Rose blinked with confusion as she heard these words. She really rather be inside the TARDIS but if she returned, she'd only get the mean glares from everyone and that was the last thing she needed right now. She had to watch her worst enemy in the arms of the man she loved.

"You weren't meant for that, Martian," Minerva swallowed, groaning afterwards and nearly closing her eyes.

"No," the Doctor lightly gasped and shook her a bit, only managing to get her eyes half-open, "…we're supposed to get married, remember? You can't leave me."

She half-smiled through her pain, "I would've loved to marry you, but it's just not meant to happen. Not in my last incarnation, not in this one...I'm sorry. But hey, we years of fantastic adventures, right?"

Rose watched with sheer pain in her heart as she heard those two speak their words. _Marriage_? They were going to get _married_? That blue box seemed worth the glares the more she looked over...

"You need a kick-start, yeah? A bit of more energy?" the Doctor asked, gripping Minerva's hand, "Here's your kick-start..."

"No, Martian, don't do that," Minerva watched with horror as his orange energy emerged from his hand and went towards hers, "It'll be a waste!" she yelped as she felt a sharp jab at her stomach, "AH!"

"It's just a little, just enough to help induce your own energy. C'mon, do this for me, for us, regenerate," he pleaded.

"Do it Minnie," Mickey spoke up, managing to turn Minerva's head towards him.

For the first time, Minerva had just realized that it was _Mickey_. Her very first best friend was _back_. He was right there, right across them. She smiled softly, "Mickey...hi," she whispered.

He smiled back and knelt down to her level, still remaining where he was, "I didn't come back to see my best friend die. So you better start regenerating so you can explain to me how the hell you're an alien with regeneration."

She let out a small laughter and looked away, "Maybe the Doctor will..."

"Oh no," Martha spoke next, "You can't leave us. I heard marriage in those words and you can't leave cos I have to prepare that marriage!"

"Yeah, and then I have to make sure she does it right!" Donna added, managing to get another laughter from Minerva, a small one, "So button up at that resistance and regenerate, woman!"

"C'mon sweetheart, do it for your family," Jackie smiled at her, "Your grandmother must be worried sick over you right now. Don't leave them yet."

"And I still need my journalist in training," Sarah Jane added, "No one writes better than you do!"

Minerva smiled softly, "You liar, I turned out to be the worst..."

"I need my friend back," Zohar called, swallowing, "It's been an awful time without you and you can't just waltz out of my life anymore, miss. Plus, you've got a kingdom that's just bursting with joy to see their princess again. You can't fail them."

"I need my granddaughter back," Mayar spoke softly, garnering all the attention of the brunette, "You are the last piece of my son, and if you die then...I'll truly be the lonely, bitter old man you once told me I was."

"And I...I need my Clever Girl," the Doctor sighed, his hand still in hers, "I need my sassy human, alien form would be just lovely too. I need you with me, please. I already lost you in your past incarnation and if I lose you again, for real...I'll die too. You did it once for me, do it a second time and I swear it'll be the last time you'll have to do it," he kissed her hand and started getting up, pulling her up with him, "I know you can do this. The energy is inside of you again, just try it. I'll be waiting," he cupped her face and deeply kissed her.

Minerva was in tears when he pulled away, her body aching even more when their hands let go of each other. She looked at everyone with a nervous face, her hands wrapped around her stomach, "You all care so much for me..." she whispered.

"We're your family, of course we do," Martha offered a smile, "We don't want to lose you."

Minerva took a deep breath and stepped back, shutting her eyes, "I don't know...if I can..."

"Minerva, for god's sake, you _have_ regeneration energy inside of you, you took _more_ regeneration energy from the jar!" the new Doctor reminded with a frustrated cry, "Clever Girl, _use_ it."

She shot him a mock-glare, one that made the original Doctor smile a little. Moontsays were widely emotional, all their powers rested on emotions…and perhaps so did regeneration.

"Are you serious?" Minerva snapped, "You're yelling at me while I'm _dying_?"

"Um, yes, that's pretty much it," the new Doctor nodded.

"Can you _be_ more rude!?"

"I don't know, let's find out!"

"Idiot!"

"And yet I'm not the one nearly dying-"

"Shut..." Minerva felt something odd within her, preventing her from completing her sentence, "...shu...shu-AH!" she threw her head back, giving a scream so loud that it made everyone cover their ears as best as they could.

A blinding blue light took over the room, Minerva's scream not fading in volume. For a good minute, the original Doctor believed the scream would never end. She sounded in so much pain, physical and emotional. But she was carrying two people in her body, plus the chunks she absorbed from Donna and the new Doctor. She was burning up within and freezing cold on her exterior. She couldn't be in peace until she regenerated and healed herself entirely which would ultimately complete the process.

Finally, the light died down and out stumbled a new woman who took a deep gasp, "Oh my lord I forgot how _awful_ that was..."

Everyone removed their hands from their eyes to see what laid ahead. But none was more intent in a stare than the original Doctor, "Minerva?"

She looked at him for a second then turned to the new Doctor, "Don't you ever yell at me again, do you understand Human boy?"

"Oh! Those are my words!" Donna jumped in excitement.

Minerva looked at her friends and started to laugh, "I can speak a thousand words in a minute, can regenerate and I'm not bloody cold!" she gasped lightly and put her fingers on her mouth, "I have a new voice…" she opened her mouth and closed it repeatedly, "…and a new mouth. And I'm still American!" she cheered, "Blimey this feels…"

The original Doctor dashed for her and took her into his arms for a large, tight hug, "My Clever Girl! My Clever Girl!" he spun her around happily.

"First thing's first," she said as he set her on her feet, looking at them all for a second. She cleared her throat and looked at her Martian with a serious expression, "...am I ginger?"

He looked her over with a soft smile, loving this new appearance. He laughed, "I'm sorry love, but you're not ginger."

"Guess I'll have to be rude to make up for it," she whispered, "So I'll start by stealing a kiss from you," she declared and went ahead to steal her Martian a kiss.

The Doctor didn't care, of course. He simply kissed back, rejoicing that she was alive and that she was with him: completely healthy. Minerva clung onto him as she also celebrated this new life she'd been given. It was one that she would not waste for a second.

While everyone watched with sheer joy, (except for Mayar as he still did not approve of the Time Lord his granddaughter had chosen) no one saw Rose quietly slip away into the TARDIS with tears in her eyes.

~ 0 ~

""Stay inside, Minerva!" the Doctor shouted before he and Sarah Jane stepped out of the TARDIS.

"But I wanna go out," Minerva rushed for the doors only to be blocked by the Doctor.

"I know you seem resistant to the heat but we're not gonna try that yet," he pointed to the shining sun.

She groaned irritant, "Bye Sarah Jane," she stomped back inside.

Sarah Jane laughed, "Bye, bye!" the Doctor sighed and turned to her and she stopped laughing to smile instead, "You know... you act like such a lonely man. But look at you! You've got the biggest family on Earth! Plus, a new woman to keep you on your toes."

"Yeah..." the Doctor looked back at the TARDIS, it's doors now closed apparently. He figured the box was on his side for once and was shielding Minerva from the sun. He smiled softly at what laid behind those doors, his Clever Girl, a _new_ Clever Girl, "...I can't wait to see what she's like now."

Sarah Jane went over and hugged him, "Thank you," and then suddenly she gasped lightly and pulled away, "Gotta go! He's only fourteen! It's a long story. And thank you!" she backed away and rushed off, stopping and glancing back to wave goodbye. The Doctor waved back and she was off.

The doors of the TARDIS opened once more and out came Jack and Zohar.

"Oh, a park is nice..." Zohar smiled brightly, "An _Earth_ park, I meant."

"You have a lot of things to learn about us," Jack said, the Doctor nodding in agreement.

"Okay, well someone start with the Facebook thing! Cos I wanna know what that is!" she pointed, both men just laughed much to her irritation.

~ 0 ~

"I just can't believe it's you, you're back!" Minerva couldn't finish hugging her best friend from another parallel world, "Mickey! I missed you!"

"You're getting just as oblivious as the Doctor, Minnie," Mickey laughed, "Maybe that's just an alien thing, huh?"

"Hey!" she pointed with a frown, "I am very clever I'll have you know."

"Yeah, we can see that. You figured your way around a human lifespan," Martha walked over with a smirk, "You wanted everything."

"In my defense that wasn't an easy one," Minerva shook her head, "I had to _die_."

"Yeah you seem to do that a lot," Donna called as she and the new Doctor made their way over, "Stop dying!"

Minerva tilted her head as she calculated how many times she had actually died. There was her first regeneration, the second time was in the Titanic, the third was in a parallel world but still her death and then a fourth inside the Crucible and a fifth with her second regeneration.

She blinked with wide eyes, "Oh wow, I've died _five_ times."

"Well stop it," Martha, Mickey and Donna ordered seriously, making her laugh.

"You seem to be very cross after you die," added the new Doctor, "You should probably stop dying."

"I'll do my best," she playfully rolled her eyes, "Now on to serious things, someone hand me a mirror," she looked around, "I need to know what I look like. What do I look like?" she looked at them with questioning eyes.

"You know, I think we should leave that for her to find out later," Martha said to the others.

"Agreed," Mickey and Donna nodded.

"No, no! Let's not agree on that!" Minerva shook her head, "Let's all be good best friends and ginger sister and tell Minerva what she looks like."

"No," the trio said to her.

"Fine, what do I look like?" Minerva looked at the new Doctor, "And you better tell me now, human boy?"

"Uh oh, is that one also going to do everything she says?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

The new Doctor gave Martha sharp look before looking at Minerva, "No."

Minerva frowned, a bit surprised that had been his answer, "What?"

"No," he repeated calmly.

"I think the world ended for real now," Martha blinked, though more amused than Minerva was at the moment, "The Doctor just voluntarily said no to his Clever Girl."

"She's not my anything," he corrected, "To me, she's always going to be the terrifying woman who nearly killed me!"

"Oh you're a liar," Minerva breathed, not actually angry, "I _yelled_."

"And you scarred me."

"You're a wuss," Minerva declared with a smirk.

"You're rude," he pointed.

"Well I guess that solves that," Donna laughed.

"Oi, you're not so nice yourself either you know. At least I don't yell at a dying woman!" Minerva put her hands on her hips.

"You were being clueless!" the new Doctor accused with a pointed finger.

"I was dying!"

"That's no excuse!"

Martha, Mickey and Donna watched the two go back and forth with amusement. This was not what they expected, honestly. They figured another Doctor would mean a whole argument over the one Minerva, and yet...

"You know what, maybe you should have been slapped earlier," Minerva yelled and crossed her arms, "I mean, who _yells_ at a _dying_ woman!?"

"One that was being clueless and was getting ready to die for no reason!" the new Doctor yelled back.

Minerva huffed and turned away, finally noticing Rose's glare across the room and quieted down. Jackie stood beside her daughter but seemed disapproving of her glare.

"She hates me, doesn't she?" Minerva quietly asked the others behind her, forgetting her argument with the new Doctor, "Like _really_ hates me, huh?"

"I don't want to seem like I approve of it, but she did come with the intention to apologize to you, Minnie," Mickey confessed.

Minerva looked back at him, surprised, "She did?"

"I sort of told her about your family and the reason you hid your real identity from her and the Doctor. She felt really bad and so when we started the dimension cannon she swore she was coming back to the Doctor and to apologize to you."

"And then she comes to find I took the place she thought was hers..." Minerva whispered, "...wow, I am awful."

"No you're not," Martha said, "You're-"

"I need to go and talk to her," Minerva swallowed, a bit afraid of how that may go. She ignored the protest of Martha and walked towards Rose and Jackie, "Jackie, can I just have a word with her?"

She nodded and gave her daughter a stern look, "Be nice," she ordered and walked towards the group across.

Minerva swallowed, her fear mounting after that. If Rose's own mother had to instruct her to be kind then Minerva could imagine how angry Rose had to be.

"Rose, I'm-I'm sorry..." Minerva began, but those were the only words allowed out of her mouth before Rose started talking.

"I cannot believe I ever felt bad about you. I spent all that time in the other world thinking of the perfect apology for you," she pointed violently, "I even came up with ways to make it up and to be actual friends...and in the meanwhile, you crawled your way into the Doctor's life! You manipulative little-"

"You finish that word and it'll be the last word you say with _teeth_ ," Martha stormed over, stopping beside Minerva.

"Martha it's okay..." Minerva whispered.

"No, no, it's _not_ okay, it's _never_ been okay!" Martha shook her head, actually trembling with anger.

She'd spent her whole time with the Doctor and Minerva seeing how the Doctor idolized Rose as a goddess while Minerva always put herself down because of the blonde. It was so frustrating to see how her best friend made herself the culprit of an issue when she had _no_ fault except falling in love! She was not about to let Minerva's confidence crumble down again, especially when it was so new.

"Who the hell are you?" Rose demanded.

"I am her best friend and her defendant from awful women like you! How dare you insult her when _you're_ the one who was manipulative? You acted so sweet around the Doctor and then showed your real face to Minerva-"

Rose frowned, "Don't talk to me that way! You're just some little UNIT employee-" she half-shouted.

That was enough to set Minerva into defense mode, "You don't talk to my best friend like that!"

"You don't tell me what to do-"

"I do whatever the hell I want when someone is rude to the people I love!" Minerva yelled.

"Shouldn't we try and stop them?" Jackie whispered to Mickey, the new Doctor, and Donna, terrified of how this argument could go.

"Sorry Mrs. Tyler, but I think this has been coming for a very long time," Donna said seriously. She also felt like going over there to defend Minerva but it seemed like the brunette was beginning to snap and do it herself.

"But if they start getting violent then we run over there," Mickey warned and Donna nodded.

"Martha I can take it from here," Minerva declared, stepping forwards, feeling a rage that hadn't been there a minute ago.

"You are unbelievable," Rose declared, her voice no longer a shout.

"No Rose, _you're_ unbelievable," Minerva quietly shot back, "You don't get to travel through multiple parallel worlds and make me feel like crap! I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you but I am more than glad it worked out well for _me_."

"You're really going to tell me that!?" Rose incredulously looked at her, was she being serious?

Was Minerva actually gloating about how well things were for her now? She didn't need a reminder that she had lost and Minerva had won. She saw it, she saw in the Doctor's eyes all that love that should've been for _her_ and _not_ Minerva. She traveled so long, worked so hard to stand here today and she had to come to the news that Minerva was now the woman who owned the Doctor's hearts. It hurt beyond belief to know that everything she'd done had been for nothing, absolutely nothing.

"Yes, I am because you don't know how awful I felt after you were trapped in the parallel world," Minerva stepped forwards, "You don't know how hard it was to hear the Doctor always talking about you like you were the kindest woman alive. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't tell him how rude you were to me, how you _threatened_ to expose my real identity to him!"

Rose heard her mother gasp in horror, "Rose..." Jackie said.

Rose avoided the look of shame Jackie gave her and focused instead on Minerva in front of her, "You were hiding something-"

"But you didn't know _why_! And you didn't even let me explain myself!" Minerva shouted, then bitterly laughed, "But don't worry. I never told the Doctor and I never will. That's my little gift for you."

"It's the least you could do after you stole him," Rose mumbled and looked to the side.

"I know the pain you feel right now, and I'm so sorry for that..." Minerva swallowed, wincing when Rose scoffed loudly.

"I love him and you just took him from me," Rose nearly laughed at the absurdity of the brunette's words, "Don't tell me you're sorry cos you're not."

"To be fair, I loved him first. I loved him _centuries_ before you were even born," Minerva spat, her tears forming in her eyes by how frustrated she was.

It wasn't even anger that she felt towards the blonde. It was the frustration that she was still seen as the bad guy in all this and that Rose didn't understand all the pain and suffering she had to go through because of all that love.

"The Doctor and I grew up together and then he married someone _else_!" Minerva shouted, getting Rose's complete attention, "Rose, I had to live knowing he was married to another woman, had _children_ with her. That pain you feel right in your heart, the one that makes you entirely ache is _nothing_ compared to the pain that I lived with for centuries. And I am sorry but he has never loved you, I am proud to say that in all his lifetimes _I_ am the only woman he has ever loved."

"And you're gloating about it," Rose bitterly laughed as she tried to suppress her tears.

"No, I am not, I am just stating a fact," Minerva snapped, "A bloody fact that has always been there since the day we met. And I am done letting other people have him. I let him marry someone else but I will not make the same mistake with you," she felt like perhaps she could be misinterpreted as harsh but she was overly done taking the heat and being 'the bigger person'.

She was tired. She was done.

"This is _my_ Star-Crossed story and until the Doctor says otherwise _I_ will be with him," Minerva declared, "Deal with it," by the time she finished she was trembling with anger.

"You are an awful woman," Rose told her in a whisper.

"No, I'm not," Minerva smiled sadly, "I'm not letting you get into my head anymore. I'm not evil, I'm not harsh, I'm just finally fighting back."

When silence took over the entire room, Minerva stepped back until Martha took her and led her away, "Good job," Martha whispered proudly.

"I'm not awful," Minerva repeated.

"No, you're not," Martha agreed.

Minerva took a deep breath and decided to step out of the TARDIS to allow Rose to recompose herself after the fiasco. Plus, Minerva really wanted to see her Martian.

"Minerva! What did I tell you!?" the Doctor quickly took Minerva into his arms the moment she came out, "I don't want to expose you to the sun just yet!"

"It's fine, Doctor, see?" Martha decided to come out as well, thinking it was her moment to finally leave.

Minerva was blinking with discomfort but slowly lowered her arm from her face and looked around, "It's the park, I loved parks," she whispered, "My grandfather used to push me on swings when I got lazy."

The Doctor smiled, pushing a strand of her new hair behind her shoulder, "You remember that?"

"Mhm," she nodded, suddenly feeling so much better when she saw him looking down at her with those soft eyes of his.

She'd really had forgotten how much she loved his eyes too, in every incarnation he had perfect eyes. She could remember it all now, all those silly gifts he'd bring her from his adventures. All the stories he told her of Earth and its people. She always wanted to go to the big blue and green planet…and she finally did.

"Well this isn't awkward at all," Jack cut the silence.

"Sorry," Minerva peered around the Doctor.

"You blush even easier now!" Jack exclaimed, a small smirk spreading on his face, "This is gonna be fun."

"Leave them alone, Jack," Martha warned.

"Doctor, they don't want to give me a mirror so I can see myself," Minerva informed him as he turned to face the others.

"You look absolutely stunning," he remarked softly, gazing her up and down.

"Well, yeah, but I'd like to know," Minerva frowned.

"Take his word," Zohar spoke up, nodding, "You've never looked better!"

Minerva put a hand on her hair and lifted it to her eyes, "Curly," she concluded from the strand she held.

"Very nice, by the way," Jack pointed.

" _Don't_ ," the Doctor immediately frowned.

"I was just complementing her, Doc," Jack groaned. Minerva giggled and put a hand over her mouth, earning a mock glare from Jack, "Oh, you think this is funny?"

"Kind of," she whispered, smiling in amusement now.

The Doctor reached over and pulled Jack's arm the held his teleport again, "You complement my Clever Girl, I disable your teleportation," he declared and proceeded to use his screwdriver.

"And you wanna marry that?" Jack raised an eyebrow, "N-n-n-no, get yourself someone better."

Minerva swayed her head while gazing at the Doctor work on the teleportation, "I think I'm okay."

"Okay I have to rework this phrase again," Martha was thinking in the meantime, "Attraction between alien geeks is highly weird!"

"Oi!" both the Doctor and Minerva shot her a look.

She just waved and smirked.

"Martha, in all seriousness, how about getting rid of that Osterhagen thing, eh" the Doctor asked, now finished with Jack's teleport, "Save the world one more time."

Martha smiled, "Consider it done."

Jack saluted the Doctor and Minerva, giving them a small nod and smile. Martha did the same then laughed and hugged Minerva, "You better call, alright? I don't care if you're an alien now you don't stop calling like the Doctor."

"I promise," Minerva nodded and pulled back.

Martha then took Jack's hand and walked away from the couple. Suddenly, Mickey emerged from the TARDIS.

"Oi! Where are you going?" the Doctor called.

"Well, first of all, to do this," Mickey hugged Minerva ever so tightly. Minerva laughed and hugged back, "I really missed her you know."

"Okay that's enough of that hug," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oh calm down," Mickey pulled away, "She's my _best friend_ , remember? And I heard about the little calls you give Martha and your family every day and I expect one too."

Minerva made a face of confusion, "But...calls between parallel worlds are sort of...out of range?" Mickey just smiled. Minerva blinked, "No..."

"Yes."

"Mickey!" Minerva cried and jumped on the man into a hug, "You're staying!? Oh my god, you're staying!?"

"Mickey, are you sure?" the Doctor asked from behind.

"Yeah," he pulled away from Minerva yet still kept an arm around her shoulders, "I had a good time in that parallel world but my Gran passed away. Nice and peaceful. Spent her last years living in a mansion. There's nothing there for me, now. Certainly not Rose."

"What are you going to do, then?" Minerva looked at him.

"Anything! Brand new life. Just you watch," he gave her a kiss on the head then knocked fists with the Doctor, "See you, boss, _princess_ ," he gave Minerva a teasing smile.

"Hey you know, I think Martha could help get you a job in UNIT..." Minerva innocently said.

"Really?" he looked after Jack and Martha.

Minerva looked at the Doctor and nodded at Mickey, 'Martha', she mouthed. The Doctor smiled and looked at Mickey, "Eyes up, soldier."

Mickey shook his head, "Gotta go," he rushed off, "Hey, you two!" he called after Jack and Martha.

" Oh... thought I got rid of you," Jack sarcastically said.

"I bet a whole batch of snicker doodles we'll be attending a wedding of the Jones' and Smith's soon," Minerva smirked.

"You are so on," the Doctor shook her hand on it.

"Okay but if I do win, you get my grandmother to bake those cookies, alright?" she warned, "Because you suck at cooking!"

He laughed and put an arm around her waist and headed back inside the TARDIS.

~ 0 ~

 _Bad Wolf Bay_

The TARDIS materialized on the sand of the beach and out came Jackie and the new Doctor. Jackie was not too pleased with her surroundings, "Ugh, fat lot of good this is! Back of beyond, bloody Norway! I'm gonna have to phone your father. He's on the nursery run."

Rose looked around, not too surprised of where they had landed in.

"I was pregnant, do you remember? Had a baby boy!" Jackie said to the new Doctor just as the original Doctor, Minerva, Donna and Zohar came out of the TARDIS.

"Ah, brilliant! What did you call him?" the new Doctor asked.

"Doctor."

The man was a bit baffled, "...really?"

"No, you plum. He's called Tony!" Jackie laughed.

"This is the parallel universe, right?" Rose could barely form her words without her voice shaking.

"You're back home," the original Doctor said.

"And the walls of the world are closing again... now that the Reality Bomb never happened. It's dimension retroclosure," Donna explained, the new Doctor smiling at her, "See, I really get that stuff now."

"Right," Rose looked to the side, recalling the day she had been left on the same beach.

How things had changed. The last time, she was so sure the Doctor would tell her he loved her too, cos he did. She knew he did...he had to have...right?

"And you're staying here too," the Doctor announced towards his counterpart, earning a shock from everyone.

"What? Why?" Rose looked back at him.

"He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own," the original Doctor explained.

"You made me!" the new Doctor angrily snapped.

"Exactly, you were born in battle - full of blood and anger and revenge," the original Doctor looked towards Rose, "Doesn't that remind you of someone?"

"But...but _she_ tried doing the same thing," Rose pointed at Minerva, "She _did_ kill!"

"And she's gonna get the help she needs too," the original Doctor assured, hearing a scoff from his counterpart, "She has her family, her friends, actual people with pure hearts that are gonna help her. But you Rose, you're going to help him," he nodded to his counterpart, "Cos that was me when we first met..." he looked at Minerva.

Perhaps if Minerva had traveled more with them in the beginning, she could have played a much larger role in his healing. But the fact was that she hadn't been there, he'd spent most his time with Rose. Rose had helped him overcome those dark feelings from the war. Minerva had continued to help him afterwards, warming his hearts unlike any other woman. He was grateful to both women for helping him, but he would never leave Minerva to spend even five minutes with the new Doctor, and not for jealousy reasons.

"You can help him," Minerva said to Rose, ignoring the small glare she received, "I know you can. You did the first time round."

"So why don't you do it instead?" the blonde asked, nearly demanded.

"Because she's coming back with _me_ ," the original Doctor said, snapped really, "And that's that."

"You can build a life," Minerva continued, acting calmly yet really trying her best not to snap from the glares, "With him, if you'd like," she looked at the new Doctor, making a face.

"What?" the new Doctor raised an eyebrow at her face.

"Why is it that when I look at you all I want to do is _punch_ you?" she just had to ask.

"Oh, that's from me!" Donna raised her hand, making the couple look back.

"Donna...you want to punch me?" the original Doctor asked, offended.

"Well I couldn't understand you back then," she tried to reason, crossing her arms, "You spoke so fast and never stopped. Whaddya think I wanted to do?"

"You're so sure that I want to stay here and build a life," Rose reclaimed their attention, specifically speaking to Minerva, "Cos you won."

"You'd stay here anyways," the Doctor spoke instead, surprising the blonde.

"What?" she frowned.

"You think I couldn't hear you from outside?" he quietly asked, seeing how Rose's eyes half-widened, "How you shouted, both of you," he looked between Rose and Minerva, both looking away from him, "The door was just wood, did you forget? I heard everything."

Minerva sighed, putting a hand on her temple, "I'm sorry."

"Doctor, there's not enough time for this," Zohar regretfully reminded.

"You're really going to leave him here?" Rose whispered, looking back at the new Doctor, feeling slightly...odd . And not a bad odd.

"Yes, cos I think after everything you deserve a friend," the Doctor said, more reserved now.

"What if I wanted to come back?" she stepped forwards, "What if I wanted to come back to you..."

"Rose, there is something you need to understand," he stepped forwards as well, "I will _always_ choose Minerva over anyone. I didn't do that the first time, on the Monsoon, and that will always be my biggest regret. I didn't fight for her, no more. I will never make that mistake again. I choose her and I will fight anyone who dares come between us."

Minerva looked at him with a small smile, feeling like it had been centuries of her just waiting to hear those words. Technically, it had been centuries. She'd always waited for him to say those words to her, even if she couldn't leave her home. And finally, two incarnations later, she'd finally heard those beautiful words...

Rose's eyes watered up as she stepped back, "She's an awful woman-"

" _Don't_ ," the Doctor gritted his teeth as he developed a glare, "Talk about the woman I love that way. I'm sorry you had to work so hard to come back, and I'm sorry you got pulled into this mess with the Daleks, but I am not sorry for my decision, I am _not_ sorry for my words," he stepped back and took Minerva's hand, "I love who I love and I have no regrets."

"You're going to regret it one day," Rose assured, "You'll see-"

"How about instead of focusing on me, you try to see the gift we are graciously leaving you with," Minerva stepped forwards, nodding to the new Doctor, "Cos after all, I know what heartbreak is, we both do," she leaned on her Martian, "Human boy," she called, "Tell her about yourself."

"Don't snap at me," he mimicked her tone yet still did what she asked, "Rose Tyler, I look like him and I think like him... same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except, I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" Rose raised her eye brows.

"I'm part Human. Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life... Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'll grow- grow old at the same time as me?"

"Together."

Rose put a hand on his chest to confirm what he said was actually true. Meanwhile, a grinding sound emerged from the TARDIS.

"We've gotta go. This reality's sealing itself off," the original Doctor declared, "Forever."

"For what it's worth, I really am sorry," Minerva looked at Rose, "I would never wish heartbreak on anyone, including you."

"If you're gonna leave then I wanna know something," Rose looked at the Doctor for that one, "The last time we stood here I told you I loved you and you didn't get to finish. What was that?"

"I don't think you want to know..." the Doctor mumbled.

"I do, I need to know," she gritted her teeth, "What was it?"

"I'm...I'm sorry," he began, her eyes watering up even more, "I just, I'm really grateful for what you did for me. You were an amazing friend, only to _me_ apparently," he gripped Minerva's hand, "But that was all you were to me, a _friend_. That was what you were."

"You're lying..."

"I'm really not," he shook his head.

Rose gritted her teeth together as she looked at Minerva, "I hope you have a very good life," she muttered with no actual meaning.

"I will honestly make sure we do," the Doctor shrugged and turned away with his Clever Girl. He felt content walking away with his girlfriend back to their dimension...where so much happiness awaited them.

~ 0 ~

"Alright, so, I need to go back to Nix Terra," Zohar walked around the console, "Gather up the remaining the Moontsays on that planet and haul them back to the Monsoon," she laughed excitedly.

"I don't want to stay on the Monsoon, though," Minerva admitted, "I mean, I want to take up my responsibilities...but I don't want to stay there to live."

"It'll all be dealt with later," Zohar assured and gave her a hug, "But your grandfather does want you on the Monsoon right now. There's a lot of work to do now that we've got you back."

"I'll go and see him, but... my decision is final."

"We'll see," Zohar said then waved to the Doctor and Donna, "See you around, and thanks!"

"You're welcome," the Doctor called back, "Tell Mayar we're on our way there soon."

Zohar nodded and rushed out the doors, Minerva turning back for them, "I have a lot of work to do apparently."

"Running a kingdom...not such an easy job, huh?" Donna teased.

Minerva sighed as she returned back to the console, "I want to take the throne, I really do...but I want to stay here," she gestured to the console room, "Travel! See things!"

"Buuuuut," the Doctor started making his way over to her.

"No, don't say that," she sighed.

He just smiled as he took her hands, "There is a lot of work to do now that you're back to your normal self. We have to see how much you retained from your Moontsay and human genes. We have to teach you what you forgot, we have to see how much heat you withstand, how much cold you can withstand, how much-"

Minerva easily kissed him and shut him up, and with her new height kissing suddenly got a lot easier.

"Mm, that's still cheating," the Doctor declared, not too displeased though.

"I don't want to start all that," Minerva insisted, biting her lip, "Can't we just forget it?"

"I'm sorry, dear, but we really can't. This pertains to your health and that is something I will not forget, ever," he said and she sighed, giving up completely.

Donna watched the pair with a small smile then took a good moment to look around the room, "Blimey I'm gonna miss this," she sighed.

The pair looked back at her, confused on her words, "What are you talking about?" the Doctor asked.

Donna just shrugged, "I'm gonna miss this place, that's all."

"Why would you say that?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Thinking of remodeling it?"

"No," the ginger lightly laughed, "I'm leaving it. I'm leaving the entire box."

"What? Why?" Minerva immediately let go of the Doctor and hurried up to her ginger sister.

"It's like the Doctor said, there's a lot of work to do now. _You_ have a lot of things to do now and I don't want to be in the way."

"N-n-n-no, I don't want to do any of that stuff!" Minerva exclaimed.

"But you _have_ to," Donna sternly looked at her, "The Doctor's right. You do have some of my humanity but it's best to know just how much you absorbed. Plus, you gave me some of your Moontsay characteristics and that should have left some consequences for you. The princess is back and she needs to work on building her life again, her _true_ life. It's time for Donna Noble to start building her life on Earth," Donna smiled, feeling very confident of that new life, "And I couldn't be more excited for it."

"Donna, you don't have to go," the Doctor joined them, staying beside Minerva, "Even if we don't know how much heat Minerva can withstand we know for a fact she can stay in here," he gestured to the room, "Meaning we don't have to stay on the Monsoon anymore. You can stay with us."

"No, I can't," Donna shook her head, "I don't want to stay anymore. I know what I used to say, that I wanted to travel forever and you know what? I _do_ want to travel, but on Earth. I look at Martha and I see how well she's doing. She has a good job, a good family and a good life. I want that. Even Jack's got a good life, lots of friends, exciting job. I want to do that, have a life like that cos you know what? I deserve it," she laughed, making Minerva as well, "I helped save Earth, the least it can do is help me build a life on it."

"So there's no changing your mind on this?" Minerva asked, even if she knew the answer perfectly well.

"'Fraid not."

Minerva sighed but nodded, "Alright ginger sister, you win."

"But hey, it doesn't mean I won't be popping back in here. There's still some places I want to see and when I finish making that list I expect to be taken," she pointed a warning finger at the Doctor, "For birthdays, of course."

"Whenever you want," he assured.

"Now c'mon and give me a hug!" Donna opened her arms for them and was greeted with a large hug.

"Actually, Donna," Minerva pulled away, "If you don't mind, there's one more thing I sort of need you to do," Donna looked at her with a confused face, even the Doctor doing the same, but Minerva just smiled softly at the ginger.

~ 0 ~

 _London, 2005._

"So you want me to...what?" Donna blinked as she looked down at her knife, incredibly hot and yet still not pricking at her skin thanks to that new icy feeling her hands could now emit.

"What I just said," Minerva smiled and looked around the streets, people running about while screaming...not even noticing the blue box that stood behind the two women.

"Alright, I suppose," Donna shrugged, not perturbed by the walking dummies around the streets.

"Thank you Donna," Minerva smiled and stepped back inside the TARDIS, brightly smiling at the Doctor who stood at the console, "This is it..." she bit her lip and walked towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, both smiling at each other, "This is the day you find me again, after so long."

"History in the making," the Doctor smiled back and kissed her lips.

~ 0 ~

Outside, Donna ran down the streets, her hot knife still as hot as ever. Finally, on a turn of a corner, she spotted a specific Auton holding a certain brunette in its hand.

"Hold on!" Donna shouted and used all her might to cut off the Auton's arm, "Hot knife," she waved her knife and looked at the young Minerva, "Might not be as awesome as a screwdriver but it sure as hell gets the job done," the young Minerva only blinked in shock.

Donna just smiled softly, studying this younger version of her clever sister. If only this younger Minerva could see herself in the future. She had no idea what laid before her, absolutely wonderful things.

"Hold on honey, he's coming," Donna said to her then ran off, laughing to herself.

That line was quite an understatement for Minerva's life. Two incarnations she'd waited for that spaceman to show up and finally he did.

~ 0 ~

The trio were in Donna's house now, sitting in the living room with Donna's granddad and mother.

"You're really staying again, sweetheart?" Wilf asked Donna, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Yes, I am," Donna repeated, looking at Minerva beside her, "It's time I let my little sister do her own life."

"When did I become the _little_ sister?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "If anything, now that I know my real age _I'm_ the older sister."

Donna, a little sidetracked suddenly, popped the question, "How old _are_ you in reality?"

Minerva swayed her head, "Mmm...so let's talk about my big sister's departure."

"Doctor, do you know?" Donna asked.

He looked at Minerva for a second, the Clever Girl giving him a sharp look that read 'don't you dare', "Donna," he began, "A smart boyfriend never talks about his girlfriend's age."

Wilf started to laugh at that, "That sounds about right!"

"You all are talking nonsense," Sylvia entered the kitchen with a tea cup in hand, handing it to Donna.

They trio had talked about Donna actually time traveling, Minerva being another alien, Donna taking in alien minds and powers...that was all ridiculous, even if the Earth had been moved through space.

"Don't start," Donna warned her with a sharp look, "What we said is true."

"C'mon, Mrs. Noble, after everything you just lived through, you're really not going to believe us?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Time travel? Are you kidding me?" Sylvia plopped down beside Wilf, "You somehow being an alien now? My daughter having ice powers now? It's a little far-fetched don't you think?"

"Hey, all you need to believe is that Donna is a time traveler with gifts no other human has," Minerva explained, "She's so bloody special and it irritates me that you, her _mother_ , acts like she's so useless."

"Minerva..." the Doctor whispered, putting his hand over hers. He didn't want her to get so worked up just now. Her health was indefinite and even the smallest little outburst could alter it.

"I don't think she's useless," Sylvia snapped, looking at Donna for some back up, "D-do you think I think that?" she blinked when Donna gave no response, everyone gave no response.

"Sylvia," Minerva spoke calmer now, "There are worlds out there," she gestured up to the sky, "Safe in the sky because of _Donna_ ," she set her hand over Donna's shoulder, "There are people living in the light, singing songs of Donna Noble, a thousand million light-years away... they will never forget her."

"It wasn't all me," Donna cut in, looking at the Doctor behind Minerva, "The spaceman and the human boy helped too."

"No Donna, Minerva's right, _you_ saved them," the Doctor said, "We just...helped."

"For one shining moment, my ginger sister was the most important woman in the whole wide universe," Minerva smiled.

"She still is. She's my daughter," Sylvia shortly declared.

""Then maybe you should tell her that once in a while," Minerva couldn't help snap.

Fallen silent for a couple minutes, the Doctor stood up and pulled Minerva as well, "We should really get you to the Monsoon."

They had already checked in on Minerva's human family and thankfully everyone was just fine. Minerva had explained to them all of her new appearance and what would be happening over the next several months. As much as she hated to say it would be quite a while until she returned to see them, she had to do it.

Minerva sighed in agreement, "Guess so. There's a lot of work to do..." as they walked out, Donna and Wilf went to follow.

Sylvia decided to remain back and...think. Yes, think. She had a lot to think about in respect towards her daughter. It actually hurt a little to know that _she_ made Donna think she was useless. She _never_ wanted to know Donna thought like that. Perhaps she could change that...yes, she would. She would get right on that.

~ 0 ~

"Aw, it's raining," Minerva peered out from the front porch of the Noble's home. The sky was dark and trundling with rain, thunder even rumbling.

"Ah... you'll have quite a bit of this. Atmospheric disturbance," the Doctor explained to the humans, "Still, it'll pass."

Donna stepped forwards and pointed a finger out to feel the water...when she shot out a spring of snow from her finger's tip, "Eek!" she jumped back, making the others laugh, even her granddad. She huffed and turned to Minerva, "Okay, when you learn how to control that, tell _me_ how to control that."

Minerva nodded, "Will do," she pointed her own finger out and tried to do the same as Donna but nothing happened, "Guess I have to practice again. That'll be fun..."

"Alright then, guess it's goodbye," the Doctor turned to Wilf, glancing at Donna.

"Not goodbye, a 'see you later' instead," Donna opened her arms and hugged him.

"Funny, that's what Martha said when she left the first time," Minerva watched them pull apart, "And she kept it."

"As will I," Donna assured and hugged her next.

"Thank you Donna, _so_ much," Minerva tightly hugged her back, "Because of you I can travel with my Martian like I always dreamed to."

"That's me, always giving out humanity pieces," Donna innocently shrugged and pulled back.

"My ginger sister," Minerva looked at her and smiled with pride, "So confident and bold. Have a very good life on Earth."

"What about you two, now?" Wilfred looked at her and the Doctor, "All those friends of yours...?"

"They've all got someone else," the Doctor nodded, winding an arm around Minerva's waist, "And that's completely fine now, cos so do I," he looked at Minerva, "We're all fine."

"We'll watch out for you," Wilfred said, "When it gets dark and the stars come out, we'll look up," Donna nodded in agreement, "We'll look up at the sky and think of you."

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

"Now go on to that planet of yours," Donna shooed them off.

Minerva yanked the Doctor into the rain and hurried into the TARDIS, "Oh that is _cold_!" Minerva shivered as she shut the door.

"See, a Moontsay would _never_ say that," the Doctor pointed at her with a teasing finger.

"That's the human side of my saying it," she pulled him up to the console, "But I guess I'm just...not a normal Moontsay," she flashed a smirk, "Fitting isn't it?" she chuckled.

~ 0 ~

Minerva stood in her TARDIS bedroom standing in front of a full-length mirror that she had finally managed to acquire. She had no bloody idea what she looked like except she was a bit taller and a curly brunette. The results were...

...odd.

She looked older now, past thirty, perhaps middle thirties. Her hair remained long but this time it was in curly locks that created a slight volume. Her jade-green eyes had been exchanged for dark brown eyes. Her cheeks became slightly thinner along with her lips. She was taller, much taller than her second incarnation. She turned her hands to her palms and looked at her wrists, each bearing a crescent moon outlined in a silver shade. Her Moontsay marks had disappeared completely except for those crescent moons.

"How we doing?" the Doctor called from her doorway, smiling softly at her.

He had let her run straight to her room after getting the TARDIS into the time vortex, understanding that curiosity to see what she looked like now. He'd given her fifteen minutes until his curiosity got the best of him and went over to see why she was taking so long to return. He found her simply standing in front of her mirror, leaning forwards then back repeatedly, her hand always touching her face.

"I look...different," Minerva mumbled, barely heard by the Doctor.

"And how do you feel?"

She looked at herself in the mirror but her eyes wandered back to him, "I'm...nervous."

"What about?"

"...you."

"Me? What I do?" he immediately pouted, had he already messed up?

She turned around and bit her lip, "I'm afraid that you won't like me anymore."

"What!?" he nearly scoffed.

She nodded silently and raised her hands to a strand of her hair where she began nervously running her fingers through it, "I look different now, I don't look that young anymore...and in my last two I've been young...I'm nervous that you won't really like me anymore."

He nodded and heard her words through, understanding that this would take a lot of getting used to for her. He wouldn't laugh, he wouldn't scold, he'd just explain and show to her that he thought she was just as gorgeous as ever. He walked over to her and stood closer to the mirror, peering through and looking at her reflection. Silently, Minerva stepped back and looked down.

"You're right, I don't like you," he declared after a minute, her head snapping right up with teary eyes.

"Y-you don't?"

"Nope," he looked between them, calm as ever.

"Oh..." her hands went up to the side of her hair and ran her fingers through it again.

The Doctor silently looked between her and her reflection for another minute or two. Suddenly, he marched right up to her and tackled her into a massive kiss, throwing them to the floor with such force. But he was determined to show her that she had nothing to worry about. She still drove him crazy, possibly even more now after everything, and all he literally wanted to do was have her in his arms and kiss her. Minerva's eyes fluttered close as she melted in her Martian's arms, her heart beating rapidly with joy and yet still with nervousness. Her hands bunched in his hair while his rested on her hip and back, pulling her even closer to him.

"Does this clarify things?" the Doctor asked her, giving her one last kiss.

"Y-yes," she breathed, completely enthralled with the amount of duration their kiss had lasted, much longer than her human lungs could ever had let her last, "Blimey, yes..."

He smiled and Eskimo kissed her, both chuckling and blushing, "I've loved you for centuries and I'll love you for centuries more. This is our happy ending, Clever Girl. Our star-crossed story fantasy," he sat up and stood, pulling her up to her feet, "Finally has a happy ending."

Minerva blushed as she was brought closer to him, the Doctor resting his forehead against hers, "It took us centuries to be together..."

"Sorry for being late, honey," he said and she giggled, "I promise I'll work on my time issue...just like my oblivious problems concerning my judgement for friends," Minerva remained quiet as she knew who he was talking about, "Minerva why didn't you ever tell me about Rose? I always spoke so kindly of her and you never said a word..."

"Because she was someone important to you and I had no right to ruin that for you," she sighed.

"Now I understand so many things, why your phone calls never got through to me... _she_ never passed them on. I understand why you never wanted to travel with us after I regenerated...my god I am the stupidest man alive!"

"Let's not talk about that," Minerva frowned, "She's gone and she's never coming back. I forgave her already so it doesn't matter-"

"NO," he put a finger on her lips, "It _does_ matter, it _always_ matters. Minerva you could have said something to me!"

"There was no point in doing that. You and here were so close and I didn't want to be the reason of an argument. Even after she left, I didn't want to ruin your good memory of her."

"You listen to me Clever Girl and listen carefully, if _anyone_ ever treats you the way she treated you you are going to tell me, do you understand?" he asked and received a silent nod, "I mean it Minerva. I don't care who it is, you tell me and I will take care of it. _No one_ will ever treat my Clever Girl like that again."

Minerva half-smiled, "Okay, I promise."

"There we go," he laid a gentle kiss on her lips, "Would you like to rest before we go back to the Monsoon?" with all the commotion he didn't even think that perhaps Minerva would need a resting period, equivalent to a Time Lord's sleeping coma after regeneration.

"Just a little would be nice," she nodded, still seemingly nervous as she cast a look at the bed.

"Something on your mind?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Um...you wouldn't mind postponing some, uh...activities between us, right?" she bit her lip, blushing madly, "I know it may seem silly but I just want to get used to this new me. Like you said, I have a lot to know and remember...and..." she felt like she was being ridiculous with her request but it didn't seem to matter to the Doctor as he just chuckled.

"Not a all, dear," he shortly kissed her, "Am I still allowed to cuddle with you each night?"

She smiled and nodded, "Oh definitely, you're not going anywhere in the night," she hugged him.

"I don't plan on it," he hugged her back, kissing her hair.

"I love you, Martian," Minerva whispered after a minute of silence.

He smiled softly, closing his eyes as he basked in their moment, knowing this was the beginning of the forever he had always planned with his moon princess, "I love you too, Kaeya," at the sound of her actual name, Minerva smiled and rested her head on his chest, letting her mind wander to decide just what she would want him to call her in the future.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! So apparently we're not making Tamales...we're going to be eating turkey? I know for some that may sound like nothing cos it's the normal thing but for me it's always been tamales since I could remember .-. What do you guys usually eat for the day? (if you celebrate it).

So...we have a _new_ Clever Girl! For reference, I picture her to be like the actress _**Susana Gonzalez**!_ Personally, I think you're going to love this third incarnation of her later on. Like she said, she's finally coming out of her shell. You saw it first when she took down Rose verbally and then second as a wife and then later on...as?

And I guess now you know how Donna appeared to save Minerva. Also, I hope Donna's departure made sense!

 _Spoiler Alert_ for those who haven't watched Face the Raven: Woah guys, she's dead. Like, Clara's dead ._. and now I can't wait for the new companion tbh. I wonder who it is!? :o

 _For the review:_

Congrats on calling the theory lol! I think the Doctor took it in a rather mature way but still came out to defend his Clever Girl, don't you think? Cool then, you'll be seeing 12 in the future ;) Oh, well hello CJ! Nice to meet you! My first Doctor Who episode? It was _Asylum of the Daleks_ with 11 and I watched it accidentally cos I was flipping channels. When i saw it I was like "who the hell are they?" [to Amy and Rory] "why are they fighting?" "who the hell is that guy?" [to the Doctor]. I was like chuck-full of questions and confusion lol that after the episode ended I just changed channels and forgot about it. But then like a week later they were having some kind of marathon and I ended up watching the last 20 minutes of The Eleventh Hour and that's where I got hooked. So technically, my first Doctor was 11 but when I went back to see it for real I fell for 10. 10 is my Doctor ^.^ Funny, when 11 regenerated I was just barely getting into Doctor Who so I guess we started at the same time lmao. Anyways, thanks for commenting and hope you liked the chapter!

Until next time guys :)

P.S. I think you're really going to like the next chapter, there's a very special, sweet moment towards the end...can you guess what it's about? ;)


	22. A Time Lord and a Moontsay

_Author's Note: Just a reminder, this is a new Minerva we have now, looking like the actress **Susana Gonzalez**! Thank you and enjoy!_

* * *

"I don't want to do this anymore, I'm _tired_ ," Minerva let her head fall flat on the table she sat at, her arms sprawled in front of her.

Ahead of her stood her paternal grandfather, Mayar, with a small board behind him. He stared at his granddaughter with a very peeved face. They were inside the Monsoon palace's study room where he had taken custom of teaching ( or _re_ -teaching) Minerva everything she seemed to have forgotten about the Silver Monsoon and the Moontsays. The room was rather large with a couple windows here and there. To Minerva's delight, it was chuck-full of books! The only bad thing was that every time she was inside the room she'd be plopped down in front of a board and forced for hours to learn things.

"Kaeya, we've been at this for only a short amount of time," Mayar reminded.

Minerva kept her face down on the table, only her muffled words coming up, "It's been _five_ hours, grandfather. I'm done for the day, you promised."

"But this is important. Now c'mon, I really need you to understand this as a Moontsay."

"I get it, I know what the Moontsay link is. I promise, I swear..."

Mayar rubbed his forehead, really trying his best not to lose his patience. It had been five months since Minerva had regenerated and thus entered the world of the Moontsays (again). Mayar had begun her re-teaching of everything Moontsay she'd forgotten while Zohar helped her develop her powers once more. But to Mayar, his granddaughter had changed _far_ too much. She wasn't that young woman who would simply do what was needed to be done for her and her people. He blamed that Doctor. It was _him_ that made her want to leave the planet again and her people. Mayar simply did not understand why his granddaughter was so enthusiastic about that bloody Time Lord. Could she not see that it was because of him that her parents had died? It was because of the Time Lords that they were brought into their war and lost everything?

His granddaughter had changed he was severely concerned.

To say, she didn't even go by her true name, Kaeya, anymore. It was such a beautiful name, named after her planet and people's love for her. Yes, he did like the name she had now but...but ' _Kaeya_ ' was the name her father had chosen for her, his _son_. To lose the name Kaeya was like shedding a part of her father as well. And for Mayar, that wouldn't do. He, along with the rest of the Moontsays that had already moved back to the Silver Monsoon, addressed Minerva as 'Kaeya', and for the rest of the Moontsays (except Zohar), she was 'princess Kaeya'.

Suddenly, there came the sound of the wheezing Minerva had prayed to every deity she remembered to make happen. Minerva's head immediately lifted up with a huge grin, "Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Kaeya, we're not done here," Mayar warned, seeing her ready to jump out of her chair and into that box, "Don't you dare leave."

"Ello, how are the lessons going?" the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, immediately greeted by a strong hug from Minerva.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, but we got a little held up with the lessons, alright?" he cupped her face and gave her a soft kiss.

"I missed you," she sighed after they pulled away.

"I missed you too," he replied.

"Yeah, yeah, can you two get more annoying?" Zohar stepped out of the TARDIS, "God, that man can talk for _hours_ ," she poked her ear repeatedly, "I was trying to teach Donna how to control that ice and the man wouldn't stop talking. In the end, Donna slapped him."

Minerva bit her lip to stop her laugh before it escaped, "Aw, poor Martian," she rubbed his cheeks, "You know better than to get in the way of a lesson where Donna Noble is involved."

Over the past months Zohar had also taken the job to teach Donna how to control those Moontsay powers she had acquired from Minerva. It seemed like Donna was doing a good job, only icing a couple things here and there. It made Minerva laugh at the fact that _Donna_ had better use of her powers than herself. Minerva could not, for the life of her, figure out how to use her powers yet. She could levitate a small water amount for a short time but barely produce any of her own. Snow and ice were completely out of the question.

"Are you all done, yet?" Mayar asked, not even trying to hide his frustration anymore, "I'm not finished with you, Kaeya."

"Please, I told you, I understand what you said," Minerva walked over to him, "I get it."

"But the link is important...especially if you're with _him_ ," he glanced at the Doctor.

"I get it, I understand. C'mon I know you don't want to do this anymore. Can I please go?"

"You're not sleeping here again?"

"No, I want to sleep in my room..." Minerva fidgeted around while her grandfather gave her a look.

Mayar sighed, "Your room has been finished for months and you haven't slept in it _once_. The whole palace is being built for _you_ and you're not going to use it?"

"Of course I'm going to use it," Minerva put on a smile for him, truly grateful everything was being done just for her, "I promise. But I want to be ready, fully ready, with all this Moontsay stuff before I take residence here even for a night."

"But these people need you. _I_ need you..." Mayar put his hands on her cheeks, "...I've spent centuries on my own, thinking everyone had died in my family..."

"But I'm not leaving you," she whispered, her smile softening, "It's just...I'm grown up now, grandfather. Things are different now, and they're going to keep changing. By some miraculous event, I've gotten what I wanted. I can stay and rule my people like my parents wanted to, like _I_ wanted to...and I can also travel with the man I love. Just because I don't live here permanently doesn't mean I'm going to disappear on you. But for right now, please, can I go? I promise I'll be back tomorrow."

Mayar looked at the Doctor with a sharp face, "You're gonna take care of her?"

The Doctor, unperturbed by the elderly man's attitude towards him, simply nodded and responded, "With my life like always."

"Be safe, okay?" Mayar kissed Minerva's forehead.

Minerva hugged him, "Okay, see you tomorrow, grandfather!" she hurried over to the Doctor and practically yanked him inside the TARDIS, the doors shutting after them.

Mayar watched that blue box disappear before their eyes and turned to the board. Zohar watched him erase the words with a soft smile, "I know why you're teaching her that link thing. It's so she stays away from the Doctor."

"She's my granddaughter, she's a Moontsay, princess to these people and planet. She needs to be with a Moontsay."

"Yeah, or someone who isn't the Doctor," Zohar crossed her arms and leaned back on the table behind her.

"The link is important, and with that man who can change his face whenever he wants...it wouldn't be safe for her."

"I don't think the link would harm her," Zohar said, "And besides, she can change her face too. We all can. It's just we haven't been able to trigger it."

"Zohar, you are her closest friend on the Monsoon," Mayar turned to her, "Your mother always guided Nienke down the right path, can't you do the same for her daughter? Kaeya cannot stay with the Doctor. It's...it's wrong."

"How can you say that after he saved her from dying?" Zohar softly asked, honestly wanting to know that answer, "Most of all, how can you be so against your granddaughter's happiness? She's in love, and she has been for centuries. Why can't _you_ be happy for her?"

"Because she's not with the right person," Mayar simply replied, "Time Lords are despicable and one day she'll realize that."

Zohar just shook her head and watched him, the man was just so completely wrong. She knew for a fact that Minerva was with the best man in the world, and she truthfully wanted them to be together forever...Minerva deserved that.

~ 0 ~

"So we're really going out this time? Properly out?" Minerva continuously asked the Doctor as she followed him towards the door, the TARDIS having landed in a mysterious place.

"Yes, I think it's about time we continue our adventures," the Doctor turned around and bumped into Minerva, "We've ran exams and everything seems to be in order. You can withstand the heat almost like a human. So let's give it a test run, shall we?" Minerva fastly nodded and watched him walk out the box into a sunny place.

Over the course of the five months, Minerva had not stepped foot outside the TARDIS that wasn't the Silver Monsoon. It was literally going to the box to the Monsoon back to the box and then to the Monsoon again. She hadn't even been to Earth anymore! The Doctor didn't want to risk bringing her to any place before he knew exactly how much heat she could withstand. So he ran multiple tests on her until he came with the conclusion that she could withstand the heat like a human would. Still, though, he didn't want to bring her somewhere flat-out hot. He wanted to start slow and begin with a location on Earth that would bear sun, but also a little bit of...

"Snow," Minerva observed from the TARDIS threshold, "Lots and lots of snow..." she looked around, "Oh, and wind," she hugged herself and peered out.

The Doctor had taken several steps away from her and the box as he observed the place as well. He noticed he was alone and glanced back, "You coming?"

"Um..." she looked around, one of her arms winding around her stomach while the other closed the door of the box as she stepped onto the mushy snow, "...guess so," she held her arms around her stomach as she observed the new place they were in, "Oh!" she froze when a group of children ran right past her.

The Doctor smiled and returned for her. In the past months he had discovered that while his moon princess girlfriend had changed into a rather more... _flirty_ woman, she could still be ever so shy at times. She would seem so delicate and...soft, like an actual teddy bear.

"It's a bit cold, huh?" she rubbed her arms a bit.

She wore a striped pink and white blouse under a long gray sweater. She had gray jeans with gray knee-length boots and her silver necklace around her neck. Her hair had been left down to boast her curls. Despite wearing her sweater, she could still feel a bit of the cold.

"You want to get another sweater?" the Doctor asked, already moving back for the TARDIS.

"No! It's fine," she pulled him back and looked around, "Where exactly are we, now?"

"Let's find out," he smirked and took her hand, walking them into a busy street market.

The stalls were decked with green garlands and ribbons. There were hawkers of mistletoe and chestnuts with carolers. Everyone was bustling about even with the large amount of snow dumped everywhere.

"You there, boy. What day is this?" the Doctor had stopped them in front of a young boy.

"Christmas Eve, sir."

"What year?"

"You thick or something?"

Minerva covered her mouth with her free hand at that, a small laugh threatening to escape her lips. The Doctor gave a mock-glare to the boy instead, "Oi. Just answer the question."

"Year of our Lord 1851, sir," the boy finally answered.

"Right. Nice year. Bit dull," the Doctor looked around.

"I don't find it dull," Minerva smiled, pulling the Doctor away from the boy as she observed their surroundings, "I'm just so happy to finally be back on Earth. Five months is _too_ much."

"I promise I'll start taking you out more," he turned around, "Slowly, of course."

She nodded, "Well I want to see my grandmother, my father, uncle Aaron, Cody, Stacey, Donna, Martha, Mickey-"

"I said _slowly_ ," the Doctor had covered her mouth with his hand, "Let's start with your grandmother considering it's Christmas."

Her eyes widened, "It's Christmas!?"

"Judging by the dozens of mistletoe around here I'm willing to bed it is," he nodded.

She squealed and jumped on him as she hugged him, "Christmas!? Oh it's been long since we celebrated a Christmas!"

"And this is going to be my favorite Christmas so far because it's our first Christmas as aliens," he grinned.

"Yes, say that aloud why don't you?" she raised an eyebrow, "But you're right, this Christmas is very special because it's the first Christmas I celebrate as my true self. You have no idea how much I used to dream about an Earth Christmas...with you," she held onto his hands, "The things you used to tell me about Christmas, it made me want to make it an actual thing on the Monsoon."

"Who says that can't happen anymore? You're the princess, practically queen of the place, make it an established holiday."

Minerva playfully rolled her eyes, "I'm the princess only. I don't have actual jurisdiction of the planet until I'm actually coronated queen. But to be queen you have to do so many things that I don't think I could do..."

"Well I wold beg to differ," the Doctor tapped her nose.

"Well..." she swayed her head, "...perhaps I could...if my Martian decided to help me."

"Well I don't have any inconvenience with that," he rested a hand on her cheek.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm, you know I'm an excellent helper!"

Minerva had to scoff, "Yeah, when you're not a klutz..."

"Am not," he made a face.

She giggled and stepped closer to him, "We could argue about that or we could just do this..." she pulled him to her lips by the tie, not even needing to lean up so much like she used to...which was something the Doctor had to admit he missed.

This new Clever Girl was far taller than her last incarnation, reaching up to his nose. He quite liked her new stature but also missed her last one as that one he could feel like he was her protector, her tall protector.

"Doctor!" a woman called from a far distance.

The pair pulled away and stared at each other with confusion, silently asking if they'd heard the same thing. Well, it was more of a mutual understanding of their silent question. It seemed like Minerva had lost the ability to use her Moontsay telepathy to communicate with her people and the Doctor. It wasn't completely gone, she could feel the little wiggling inside her head whenever the Doctor tried to speak to her silently. She had to practice, but even then perhaps she would need extra help. It could be an ability she may have lost during the process. Still, the Doctor gave her hope that with practice she could develop her telepathy once more. She frankly didn't mind if she ever got it back, she was just grateful she didn't have to spend her life trapped on a cold planet. That was all she really had asked for, that and her longer lifespan. She'd gotten both so she was perfectly content with whatever else she'd garnered or not.

"Doctor!" the same woman called again.

"Hm, I think it's coming from over there," Minerva pointed towards an alley far ahead.

"Would you care to take your first alien run with me, princess?" the Doctor held his hand out for her.

Minerva laughed, "Oh c'mon, you're not really going to stick the word 'alien' in front of everything I do, are you?"

"We'll see," he grinned and pulled her down for their first 'alien run'.

~ 0 ~

Down in the alleyway, a young woman was backing away from bolted doors in a rather nervous manner, "Doctor!" she continuously called.

The Doctor and Minerva arrived to see the woman, "Don't worry, don't worry. Stand back, what have we got here? Ooh," the Doctor stepped back with Minerva as they heard a growling noise coming behind the doors followed by the actual thing throwing itself against them.

"So whatever's behind that door should probably stay inside those doors," Minerva remarked, nervous herself.

"Right," he looked over to the stranger woman, "I think you should get out of here."

But the woman seemingly ignored them and continued yelling, "Doctor!"

"No, I'm standing right here. Hello," the Doctor waved at her.

She simply made a face, "Don't be so stupid, who are you?"

"I'm The Doctor."

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor."

"Well, there can't be two of ya."

"There isn't," Minerva shrugged then looked at the Doctor with a curious look, a hint of a smirk on her lips, "...is there?"

"Get rid of those thoughts, Clever Girl," he pointed with a warning finger, making her blush and look to the side.

Suddenly, a man came running towards the group, dressed for the period. The woman sighed and then demanded, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Don't worry. Stand back. What have we got here, then?" he looked at the doors.

"Hold on, hold on. Who are you?" the Doctor frowned.

"I'm the Doctor. Simply the Doctor. The one, the only and the best. Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver," Rosita handed 'the Doctor' something the pair couldn't get a good look at from their spot.

"What?" the Doctor frowned.

"Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS," the man instructed to Rosita.

"Back to the what?" the Doctor repeated.

"Stand back, sir, ma'am. This is a job for a Time Lord."

"Job for a what lord?"

"Stop putting a 'what' in all your sentences," Minerva scolded her Martian.

Suddenly, the door burst open and out came a creature with a shaggy, furry body and a metal mask where its face ought to be.

"Oh, that's different," the Doctor pulled Minerva behind him then reached into his pocket.

"Oh, that's new," the second Doctor remarked.

Both aimed their sonic screwdrivers at the creature saying their practical catchphrase, "Allons-y."

"Minerva, get back," the Doctor ordered her.

"But I can help..." Minerva peered around to the creature, "...sort of..." she sighed and did as told and took her steps back. She looked at her hands and cursed herself for not being able to unlock those abilities she had once perfected so greatly. She'd gotten what she wanted as a human, she'd practically upgraded, but she still couldn't help her Martian in times of need.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight. Now step back, sir," the second Doctor ordered the current Doctor.

The creature, a Cybershade, leaped over them and clung onto the wall of a building.

"Some sort of primitive conversion, like they took the brain of a cat or a dog," the Doctor remarked.

"Well, talking's all very well. Rosita," the second Doctor called.

"I'm ready," Rosita handed the second Doctor a rope that he used to swing over his head like a lasso.

" Now, watch and learn," the second Doctor released the rope and encircled the Cybershade, "Excellent. Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to earth."

The Cybershade scaled the wall and took with it the second Doctor, leaving the others to stare.

"Or not," the Doctor mumbled.

"I might be in a little bit of trouble," the second Doctor declared.

"Nothing changes. I've got you," the Doctor took hold of the rope...and was pulled right up the building as well.

"You idiots!" Minerva and Rosita shouted simultaneously then looked at each other with surprise.

"Perhaps if you could pull?" the second Doctor asked, a bit more with sarcasm.

"I am pulling. In this position, I couldn't not pull, could I?" the Doctor countered.

The Cybershade jumped into a window and stopped.

"Then I'd suggest you let go, sir," the second Doctor said.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Doctor. Don't you recognize me?"

"No, should I? Have we met? This is hardly the right time for me to go through my social calendar."

Inside a warehouse, the Cybershade ran across the floor while pulling both Doctors up into the room and after it.

"It's gonna jump!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"We're gonna fall!" the second Doctor added.

Rosita chopped the rope with an axe and so both Doctor tumbled from the quick stop. Both Doctors stood up with a groan and started laughing, even hugging.

Minerva just looked at them and shook her head, "Idiots."

~ 0 ~

The group walked down the stairs from the ware house with the Doctor still laughing, Rosita none to pleased with the events, "Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny. You're mad. Both of you. You could've got killed."

"But, evidently, we did not. Oh, I should introduce Rosita. My faithful companion, always telling me off," the second Doctor gestured to the woman.

"Well, they do, don't they?" the Doctor asked.

"Donna sure had a knack for it," Minerva remarked, "And it's very nice to meet you Rosita."

"Huh. Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps. All that for nothing. And we've only got 20 minutes till the funeral, don't forget," the woman walked away, and looked back, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?"

"Funeral?" Minerva frowned, that had suddenly turned bad.

"Oh, long story. Not my own, not yet," the second Doctor bent down and groaned, "Oooh, I'm not as young as I was."

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me," the Doctor remarked.

"When I was who?"

"You really don't recognize me?"

"Or me?" Minerva added curiously. The man hadn't shown the least bit of interest in her and she had expected some type of special attention from him...

"Not at all," the second Doctor shook his head.

"But you're The Doctor. The next Doctor," the Doctor added, sounding upset, "Or the next-but-one. A future Doctor anyway."

"Oh!"

"No, no, don't tell me how it happened. Although..." the Doctor considered with a frown, "I hope I don't just trip over a brick, that'd be embarrassing. Then again, painless. Worse ways to go, depends on the brick."

"I can actually see that happening, though," Minerva remarked, giggling, "You're just that big of a klutz."

"You're not helping," he pointed.

"You're the one who said it!" she reminded.

"Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you get to be rude to me."

"I'm not being rude, I'm agreeing with you!"

"Sir, ma'am, you two are just gabbling," the second Doctor cut in, "Now, might I ask, who are you, exactly?"

"Actually, I wonder something too," Minerva turned to him, "Where's your other friend?" she tried being discreet of the question, "Like, um...a woman, perhaps? Besides Rosita."

"No, I'm, uh... I'm just Smith. John Smith," the Doctor sighed, seeing as the man really did not remember them, "Oh, and this is Minerva Souza," perhaps their Clever Girl's human name would jog his memory too, "But I've heard all about you, Doctor. Bit of a legend, if I say so myself."

"Conceited," Minerva mumbled. He simply smirked and put his arm around her waist.

"Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir. But yes. Yes, I am," the second Doctor replied.

"A legend with certain memories missing. Am I right?"

"How do you know that?"

"You've forgotten me...and _her_ ," the Doctor nodded to Minerva, "We don't ever forget about her."

"Great swathes of my life have been stolen away. When I turn my mind to the past, there's nothing," the second Doctor sighed.

"Going how far back?" Minerva asked, getting an uneasy feeling due to the fact that not only did this future Doctor forget her but she was no where to be seen and she was pretty sure she wouldn't regenerate again to be Rosita as she had no intention of changing her name again.

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London town. You won't believe this, Mr Smith, Miss Souza, but they are creatures from another world."

"Really? Wow," the couple could only muster.

"It's said they fell onto London, out of the sky in a blaze of light. And they found me..." the second Doctor trailed off for a second as he thought he may have remembered something, "Something was taken. And something was lost."

At that, the Doctor pulled Minerva closer to him...he couldn't have meant her, right...right?

The second Doctor looked at them both, "What was I like? In the past?"

"I don't think I should say. Sorry. Got to be careful with memory loss. One wrong word..."

"It's strange, though. I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you don't blink, Mr Smith, or you Miss Souza," the second Doctor looked from one another with oddity.

"Ah, don't blink, remember that? Whatever you do, don't blink?" the Doctor asked, looking at Minerva who nodded with agreement, "The blinking and the statues? Sally and the angels? No?"

"You're a very odd man," was all the second Doctor had to say.

"Hmm, I still am. Something's wrong here," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oh, the funeral. The funeral's at two o'clock. It's been a pleasure, Mr Smith, Miss Souza. Don't breathe a word of it."

"Can't we come with you?" Minerva asked curiously. Sure she didn't like funerals one bit but there was something odd going on around and it concerned her future Martian, apparently, so she would suck it up.

"It's far dangerous, ma'am. Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe. Oh, and, er... merry Christmas," the second Doctor went on his way.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor," the Doctor quietly said.

"You realize we so have to follow him, right?" Minerva looked up at him.

"You sure you up for it? Cos I can bring you back to the TARDIS where it'll be safe until I can figure out what's going on-"

Minerva put a finger on his lips, "If you take me back to the TARDIS I'll with hold any sort of kiss," she warned dead seriously, "I've been adventureless for five months. So what's it going to be, Martian?"

"...off we go!" he quickly said and yanked her after the second Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The funeral procession was making its way down the street with the second Doctor and Rosita watching them intently.

"The late Reverend Fairchild, leaving his place of residence for the last time. God rest his soul. Now, with the house empty, I shall effect an entrance at the rear while you go back to the TARDIS. This is hardly work for a woman," the second Doctor declared, hearing the small scoff from Rosita.

Unbeknownst to them, the current Doctor and Minerva were watching them from behind a good distance.

"Oh, don't mind me saving your life. That's work for a woman, isn't it?" Rosita reminded the second Doctor.

"The Doctor's companion does what the Doctor says. Off you go," the second Doctor instructed then parted ways with Rosita.

The current Doctor and Minerva watched Rosita head on away before following the second Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The second Doctor was busy working on picking the lock to a door of a house when it was suddenly opened from the inside by the current Doctor and Minerva.

"Hello!" Minerva waved excitedly.

"How did you get in?" the second Doctor immediately asked, looking from one another.

"Oh, front door. I'm good at doors," the Doctor replied and received a scoff from Minerva.

"Oh shush, my Bobby pins get the job done way better than you do," she shook her head.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and looked at the second Doctor who held something peculiar in his hands, "Um, do you mind my asking, is that your sonic screwdriver?"

"Yeah," the second Doctor held up a _regular_ screwdriver, "I'd be lost without it."

"But, that's a screwdriver. How's it sonic?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, making the second Doctor think on it.

"Well, er, it makes a noise," he tapped it against the doorframe, "That's sonic, isn't it? Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view."

The trio entered the house while the Doctor closed the door behind them. The room inside was heavily decorated with Christmas decorations. The second Doctor headed straight for a desk and began searching through the drawers.

"This investigation of yours, what's it about?" the Doctor asked, watching the man work.

"It started with a murder."

"Oh, good," the Doctor nodded then received an elbow in the ribs followed by a sharp look from Minerva, "I mean bad," he quickly corrected himself, "But whose exactly?"

"Mr Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death."

"By the Cybermen?" Minerva asked.

"It's hard to say, his body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders. Then abductions. Children…stolen away in silence."

"So whose house is this?" the Doctor looked around.

The second Doctor moved over to a book rack, "The latest murder. The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"So why was he important?" Minerva began stepping around, her hands behind her back.

The Doctor smiled at her, she looked even more adorable with her curiosity. Now that she had remembered several more information about the world she grew even more curious about things.

"You two ask a lot of questions," the second Doctor remarked.

"It goes with the job of the companion," Minerva turned to the two men with a big smile, "That's what I did on the first day I met y..." she paused when she realized perhaps it wouldn't be right to reveal they'd already knew each other.

The second Doctor eyed her a for a minute before responding, "The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children again. But why would the Cybermen want him dead? And what's his connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?" the Doctor asked, absently moving closer to Minerva.

"It's funny, I seem to be telling you everything. As though you engendered some sort of... trust," the second Doctor studied the pair, "You seem familiar, Mr Smith. I know your face. But how?"

"You don't think I look familiar?" Minerva frowned.

"I wonder. I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch, the Doctor glanced at the fob watch that hung around the man's neck.

""Is that important?"

"Believe me," Minerva shook her head, "It gives Time Lords the ability to entangle little humans and make them nearly fall in love with them."

"Oh, oh, it was _me_ that entangled you?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, now hush," Minerva patted his arm.

The Doctor stared at her with a half-open mouth. These were the times where her shyness would completely disappear.

"You know, legend has it that the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch. Do you mind?" Minerva held her hand for the fob watch and the second Doctor handed it over, confused by the odd pair.

"I am so getting you back for this," the Doctor mumbled to Minerva before taking the watch from her, unaware of the smirk she wore, "It's said that if it's opened..." he opened the watch only to let all the workings fall to the floor, "Oh. Maybe not."

"It's more for decoration," the second Doctor remarked, somewhat upset that his watch was now half on the floor.

"Yeah. Anyway, alien infiltration," Minerva exclaimed and pulled her Doctor towards a book shelf.

"Look for anything different, possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no earthly engine," the second Doctor instructed.

"Doctor," Minerva whispered and pointed towards a desk ahead that seemed to be locked. The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at the desk.

The second Doctor, oblivious to what was going on behind him had continued to explain, "It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world. Shh! What's that noise?"

The Doctor quickly put his screwdriver back in his pocket before the second Doctor turned around.

"Oh, it's just me... whistling," Minerva ducked in breath to imitate the screwdriver...only to find that she couldn't whistle. She blinked and went cross-eyed for a second as she tried looking at her mouth, "Aw...I can't whistle anymore," she pouted at the realization.

"Anyways," the Doctor pulled the Clever Girl who was attempting to whistle again behind him, "I wonder what's in here, though," he pointed at the unlocked desk and walked over to it while pulling Minerva with him. He opened up the and pulled out a metal cylinder, "Ah. Different and metal, you were right. They are infostamps. I mean, at a guess. Um, if I were you, I'd say they worked something like this," he pressed one end of the cylinder and images were projected onto the wall from the other.

"Oh, what is that?" Minerva asked curiously.

"Compressed information. Tons of it," he replied and put on his glasses, "That is the history of London, 1066 to the present day. This is like a disk, a Cyberdisk. But why would the Cybermen need something so simple?" neither of the couple realized how bad the second Doctor reacted to the sight of the infostamps and even collapsed onto a chair behind them.

"Well if Cybermen are in this century there's really not a whole lot of electricity to get by on," Minerva remarked.

"Oh! That's it! Brilliant you are!" the Doctor kissed her head with excitement, "They're in the wrong century, they haven't got much power. They need plain old basic infostamps to update themselves!"

Minerva was proudly smiling until she saw the second Doctor on the chair, "Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he waved her off weakly.

"No, what is it?" Minerva insisted, she and the Doctor sitting across from the man, "What's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before," the second Doctor said, for a brief moment seeing himself with a Cyberman, "I was holding... this device, the night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And you were there. Who are you?" he looked at them both with a slight fear.

"Friends. We swear," the Doctor said.

"Then I beg you, John, Minerva. Help me."

"Ah. Two words I never refuse, the Doctor beamed stood up, "But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house. It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS... Your TARDIS. Hold on, I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," he started opening doors for some reason, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping," and then he opened up a door with a Cyberman behind it. Minerva shot right up with wide eyes as he closed the door again and turned to face her and the second Doctor, "Okay. I think we should run."

"You think?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, watching him run back to them.

The Cyberman pushed the door open and stomped out.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do believe so, now RUN!" the Doctor pushed Minerva ahead of him, "You too, Doctor! Run, Doctor! Now, Doctor!"

"Delete!"

The trio tried running through the hallway only to be blocked by a second Cyberman, "The Doctor will be deleted."

The group turned around and ran back only to have the first Cyberman they saw break through the door, "Delete!"

"Stairs! Can't lead them outside!" the Doctor shouted.

He made sure Minerva and the second Doctor went up first while he looked about for some type of weapon. Unfortunately, he only found an umbrella near him. Minerva watched him in horror from the turning point of the stairs.

"Delete!"

He nabbed a sword off the wall and held it to the nearing Cybermen, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" the Cybermen kept coming, "OK, this is really your last warning!"

"Martian!" Minerva shouted.

"OK, I give up," he dashed up the stairs.

"Delete!"

"Listen to me properly!" the Doctor backed up the stairs as the Cyberman advanced on them, using the cutlass to block the blows, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, I can help! I'm the only person in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete!"

"I'm The Doctor. You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's The Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!" the Doctor kicked the Cybermen back and ran the other two up so he could run.

"Delete!"

"The Doctor, remember? I'm The Doctor! You need me alive! You need The Doctor, and that's me!"

The second Doctor looked at the infostamp he held in his hand and felt another sort of memory rush through his head. Meanwhile, the Doctor was pushed to the floor by the Cyberman.

"No!" Minerva shouted and moved to the Doctor's side, the man trying to push her back as the Cybermen continued to come forwards.

The second Doctor saw himself once destroying the Cybermen using an infostamp. He looked over the pair and Cybermen, following what he saw himself once doing. He opened up the end of the infostamp and aimed it at the Cybermen, an energy beam shooting out towards their head. The Cybermen fell to their knees where their heads exploded.

"Infostamp with a cyclo-Steinham core. You ripped open the core and broke the safety, zap!" the Doctor laughed as he stood up with Minerva, "Only The Doctor would think of that."

But the second Doctor wasn't so happy or amused, he simply stared at the infostamp in his hand, "I did that...last time."

"Hey, you'll be okay," Minerva left her Doctor's side and walked over to the other, putting her hands on his face and turning his head, forcing him to look at her, "Whatever they did to you, we'll fix it. We're going to help."

He smiled, "Thank you, Miss Souza."

The Doctor joined them with his stethoscope out, "Let me just check..." he slowly put the ends on his ears.

"You told them you were The Doctor. Why did you do that?" the second Doctor turned to him with confusion.

"Oh, I was just protecting you," the Doctor listened to the heartbeat on the man's chest, just _one_.

"You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did. They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember. What happened to me? What did they do?"

Minerva looked at her Doctor for a silent evaluation, telepathic abilities not needed to see that her Doctor had confirmed the man was not him from the future and much less another Time Lord. Still, that wouldn't stop either of them from helping him.

"We'll find out," the Doctor assured the man.

"Yeah," Minerva nodded in agreement, "All of us, together."

~ 0 ~

Rosita was pacing outside in the alley as she waited, immediately running when she saw her Doctor coming back, ". Doctor! I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita. A little decorum," the second Doctor said as he pulled away from the hugging woman.

"You've been gone for so long. He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic," she looked back at the Doctor and Minerva.

"What about the TARDIS?" the second Doctor asked her.

"Oh, she's ready. Come on," she took him by the arm and led him ahead.

"I gotta say I'm looking forward to this," Minerva whispered to her Doctor as they followed.

The couple was led into a stable place with clothes and cases scattered through the building. The second Doctor and Rosita were conversing while the couple observed every last detail of the place.

"You were right though, Rosita. The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen," the second Doctor said to Rosita.

"So, you live here?" the Doctor asked him.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy. The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," the second Doctor stepped into one of the stalls and dipped a cloth into a basin of water to wash his face.

"And where's the TARDIS now?" Minerva asked, practically bursting with curiosity to see the human's creation.

"In the yard."

"Er... What's all this luggage?" the Doctor asked as he took one more look at the scattered luggage around.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita, much like myself. He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I," the second Doctor emerged from the stall," meanwhile the Doctor had taken out his screwdriver and was using it on some of the luggage, "He was quite brilliant. Are you whistling again, Miss Souza?" the man looked up at her.

"Uh...yup, I got better," she offered a smile then looked at her Doctor with a rather serious look, "I am still no where near better."

She knew it was a petty thing to be upset about but her whistling as a human was because of all the travels she did. To lose that was like losing one of her actual happy moments during her solitary travels. Plus, a person always needed to know how to whistle. It could come in handy like the first time they met Donna at her wedding!

The Doctor, seeing as Rosita had caught him with the screwdriver made a 'ssh' motion and put away his screwdriver. He moved over to one of the trunks and reached to open one of them.

"That's another man's property," Rosita scolded lightly.

"Well, a dead man's," and he went on to search the trunk.

"He'd search anything," Minerva waved him off, "Living or dead. So how did you two meet, then?" she turned completely to the woman.

"He saved my life. Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then, there he was. The Doctor," Rosita's small smile had faded, "Can you help him, both of you? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror."

"Come now, Rosita. With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams," the second Doctor joined them.

"Yeah..." the Doctor paused in his search as he thought about all the certain nightmares he'd had after the war. They were things he never wanted to see again and yet that was his punishment, to remember everything that happened and remember what he did.

Minerva moved over to his side and offered a sweet smile as she kissed his cheek, "Luckily, every nightmare has to eventually stop."

Thankfully, she'd survived and remained as his only dream each night, pushing away those awful nightmares.

Minerva, seeing him still lost in thoughts peered into the trunk and found a certain object that a human shouldn't have, "Look at this," she pulled out an infostamp, "Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how? Is that significant?" the second Doctor asked her.

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS. Could we see it?" she turned around, still ever so curious to see that TARDIS.

"Miss Souza, it would be my honor."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva were led out to see the second Doctor's TARDIS. Instead, they found a hot-air balloon in the center of what looked like a small courtyard. There stood a man beside it, waiting.

"There she is! My transport through time and space. The TARDIS," the second Doctor gestured.

The Doctor looked up with blinking eyes, "You've got a... _balloon_."

Minerva leaned forwards with a small smile, "What does it stand for, if I may ask?"

" T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style. D'you see?"

"Right," she smiled and looked to her Doctor, "What do you think, dear?"

"Good TARDIS," he nodded as he moved up examined the balloon, "Brilliant. nice one...and it's inflated by gas, yeah?"

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks, I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed," the second Doctor clapped the waiting man on the shoulder.

"Glad to be of service, sir," Jed replied.

The Doctor observed the second Doctor take out numerous numbers of bills from his pocket to pay Jed, "You've got quite a bit of money."

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing. How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

"All repaired, should work a treat. You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above," Jed looked up to the balloon.

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" Minerva asked.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita shrugged.

"I can depart, in the TARDIS, once London is safe," the second Doctor clarified, "And finally, when I'm up there... Think of it, Miss Souza. The time and the space."

"I can, I have been on my own travels by myself...as a means of a escape," she quietly said, unconsciously leaning closer to her Doctor, "It was the perfect escape, actually. So tell me, Doctor, do you know what you're escaping from?"

He shook his head and sighed, "Not at all."

"Would you like to know?" the Doctor asked, putting an arm around Minerva and rubbing her arm.

"With every moment..."

"He's asking you quite literally if you'd like to know what you're escaping from," Minerva clarified, "Cos it's been worked out. How you became The Doctor, I mean. What do you think? Do you want to know?" the second Doctor gave a small nod, though he was still fairly unsure.

~ 0 ~

Once back at the stables, the Doctor and Minerva took a seat in front of the second Doctor and Rosita, the Doctor beginning the revelation, "The story begins with the Cybermen. A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called The Void, locked inside forevermore. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside The Void perished. But, as the walls of the world weakened, the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you."

"I fought them, I know that. But what happened?" the second Doctor asked, wanting them to skip the whole review and get to the last, he needed to know what had been taken from him. He could feel it inside, it was something urgent, something that needed to be known.

"At the same time, another man came to London. Mr Jackson Lake. Plenty of luggage, money in his pocket. Maybe coming to town for the winter season, I don't know. But he found the Cybermen too. And just like you, exactly like you, he took hold of an infostamp."

"But he's dead. Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him."

"You said no body was ever found. And you kept all his suitcases, but you could never bring yourself to open them. I told you the answer was in the fob watch. Can I see?" the second Doctor handed the Doctor his fob watch. The Doctor flipped the watch over in his palm and revealed a monogram to the others, ""J.L." The watch is Jackson Lake's."

"Jackson Lake is... you, sir?" Rosita looked at the man sitting beside her.

"But I'm The Doctor," he insisted, rather weakly.

"You became The Doctor because the infostamp you picked up was a book about one particular man," the Doctor projected the infostam onto the wall beside them which showed all his incarnations up to his current, "The Cybermen's database. Stolen from the Daleks inside The Void, I'd say, but it's everything you could want to know about The Doctor."

"That's you," Jackson breathed.

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen. The one and the only. You see? The infostamp must have backfired, streamed all that information about me right inside your head."

"I am nothing but a lie," Jackson shook his head.

"No, you're not," Minerva spoke up, softly speaking, "Those infostamps are just facts and figures. All that bravery. Saving Rosita. Defending London town. Everything you did was all _you_. You can't steal someone else's bravery or heroism, it comes from within."

"And what else? Tell me what else?" he looked between them, nearly begging them to continue.

"There's still something missing, isn't there?" the Doctor asked sadly.

"I demand you tell me, sir. Tell me what they took."

"We're really sorry," Minerva began, looking back at the luggage, "When I traveled on my own I traveled light. Just one suitcase, or a backpack..." she sighed and looked back at Jackson, "But that's not the case here. This is just _too_ much luggage for _one_ man. And I understand why you did it, cos somewhere deep inside I think I tried doing that too when I lost my sister, practically did it when I lost my parents. The infostamp is just technology, it's not enough to make someone lose their mind. What you had was a fugue. A fugue state. Where the mind just runs away, because it can't bear to look back. You wanted to become someone else, because Jackson Lake had lost so much."

A bell tolled in the distance, cutting short the conversation for a moment, "Midnight. Christmas Day," Rosita looked up.

"I remember... Oh, my God..." Jackson breathed as he recalled a _woman_ being in the same place he'd found the Cybermen in...and she'd been electrocuted, "Caroline. They killed my wife," he started crying, "They killed her," Rosita comforted him when a loud beeping sound started to emerge.

The Doctor and Minerva looked around the place, the Doctor fnding another infostamp which he used to follow the sound to another trunk, "Oh..." he pulled out a long belt that held infostamps, "You found a whole cache of infostamps," he looked over at Jackson.

"But what is it? What's that noise?" Rosita asked.

"Activation. A call to arms. The Cybermen are moving!" he exclaimed, running out with Minerva hot on his trail.

Outside, the two stopped to see the shadow of Cybermen heading towards them.

~ 0 ~

Rosita had taken a seat beside Jackson again after the couple had left, "The Doctor needs help. I learnt that much about him. There should be someone at his side. Now go. Go."

Rosita hesitated a minute to leave him but eventually did. She rushed out to see the couple watching a parade of children walking past them, "What is it? What's happening?" she asked then saw Mr. Cole walking behind the children, "That's Mr Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers."

"I don't think they're going to pray," Minerva pointed at the earpieces the man wore.

The Doctor walked alongside the man, "Can you hear me? Hello? No? Mr Cole, you seem to have something in your ear. Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just..." he reached for his screwdriver and had to stop at the sight of a Cybershade, "They're on guard. Can't risk a fight. Not with the children."

"But where are they going?" Rosita asked.

Jed came running up to them from behind, "All need a good whipping, if you ask me. There's tons of 'em. I've just seen another lot coming from the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane."

"Where's that?" Minerva asked the two.

"This way!" Rosita led the way through side streets, stopping at the sight of another group of children being led by another controlled man, "There's dozens of 'em!"

"But what for?" the Doctor frowned.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Minerva and Rosita were watching the children entering the building Mr. Scoones, an elderly man, was forcing them into.

"That's the door to the sluice. All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames," Rosita explained.

"Yeah, that's too well guarded. We'll have to find another way in," the Doctor said and turned back along with the women for another means of entrance. Instead, they found their pathway blocked by two Cybermen, "Whoa! That's cheating, sneaking up! Did you have your legs on silent?"

A woman, named Mercy Hartigan, with dark hair and eyes strolled up in front of the Cybermen and turned to the trio, "So... what do we have here?"

"You need to get away from there," Minerva exclaimed, "Just come towards us and don't let them touch you!"

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys. They are my knights in shining armour. Quite literally," she smiled at the brunette.

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern. You've still got free will. Step away..." the Doctor motioned for her to come over.

"There's been no conversion, sir. No-one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted - liberation."

"Who are you?" Rosita asked.

"You can be quiet. I doubt he paid you to talk," she snapped and received a face from Rosita, "More importantly, who are you, sir, With such intimate knowledge of my companions?"

"I'm The Doctor."

"Incorrect. You do not correspond to our image of The Doctor," one of the Cybermen said.

"Yeah, that's cos your database got corrupted. Oh, look, look, look! Check this! The Doctor's infostamp," the Doctor threw the infostamp over to the metal creatures, "Plug it in. Go on, download."

The Cyberman caught the core and examined it, "The core has been damaged. This infostamp would damage Cyberunits."

"Worth a shot," Minerva shrugged.

The Cyberman held the infostamp as it beeped, "Core repaired. Download," its chest opened up and it inserted the infostamp into it, now seeing the proper Doctor in its eye, "You are The Doctor," it removed the infostamp.

"Hello!" the Doctor waved.

"You will be deleted."

"Oh, but let me die happy! Tell me - what d'you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for? They're a workforce," Miss Hartigan replied.

"What are they being used for?" Minerva asked, crossed that poor little innocent children were being brought into the hands of Cybermen by this despicable woman.

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down, in worship."

"And it's all been timed for Christmas Day, hasn't it?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Was that your idea, Miss...?"

"Hartigan. And, yes, it's the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"The birth of what?" the Doctor asked.

"A birth, and a death. Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now, delete them."

"Delete!"

The Doctor stood in front of Minerva and Rosita as the Cybermen advanced. Suddenly, a beam of energy hit both Cybermen from behind. Jackson stood back and had aimed the infostamp at them, destroying them, "At your service, Doctor."

"Shades! Shades!" Miss Hartigan shouted.

"Run, come on!" Minerva pulled Rosita away.

"Shades!"

"One last thing," Rosita marched forwards and _punched_ Miss Hartigan in the face, actually making the woman fall to the ground.

Minerva stared with a mouth hanging open and eyes wide open. The Doctor hurried over and pulled both women away, "Can I say, I completely disapprove! Come on!"

"Get off me. I said get off me!" Miss Hartigan ordered the Cybershades as she stood up again, "Tell your masters, we're not waiting till dawn. The CyberKing will rise... tonight!"

~ 0 ~

The group stopped their running to catch their breath in a random street, "That stronghold down by the river. I need to find a way in," the Doctor was saying.

" _We_ ," Minerva corrected him, "We need to find a way in."

He just gave her that look that said he'd rather she stay far, far away from the evil place. Minerva would not have it anymore. She was no longer fully human and could withstand more things than her past incarnation ever got the chance to. Now if she could just get him to realize that...

"I'm ahead of you! My wife and I were moving to London so I could take up a post at the university," Jackson explained, "And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he pulled out legal documents from his coat's pocket, "The deeds - 15 Latimer Street. And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then..."

"That might be a way in! Brilliant!" Minerva exclaimed cheerfully.

"But there's still more. I remember the cellar...and my wife. But I swear there was something else in that room. If we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders. So...onwards!" Jackson headed off followed by Rosita.

"Maybe you should go back..." the Doctor tried to suggest to Rosita.

"Don't even try!" she held a finger to him and rushed off.

"It's just not gonna happen, Martian," Minerva flashed a grin and pulled him after the other two.

~ 0 ~

Jackson had entered the cellar to find Cyberman awaiting, "Delete!"

Jackson killed it with an infostamp and moved over so the rest could come inside. The Doctor rushed at the sight of a device set up in the middle of the floor, "Must've been guarding this. A Dimension Vault! Stolen from the Daleks again, that's how the Cybermen travelled through time. Jackson, is this the thing you couldn't remember?"

"I don't think so. I'm... I just can't see. It's like it's hidden."

"Yeah, not enough power. Come on! Avanti!" the Doctor stood up with and ran off with Minerva.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita asked while they ran down the tunnels.

"They want us. That's what Cybermen are - human beings with their brains put into metal shells. They want every living thing to be like them," the Doctor answered, careful to speak in a low volume which always seemed to be a challenge for him.

The group came to find the workroom of the Cybermen where all the children were working like slaves.

"Oh that is hot..." Minerva mumbled, wanting to keep that to herself. If the Doctor heard he'd sent her straight back to the TARDIS and be ordered to stay there until further notice.

"Upon my soul," Jackson breathed.

"What is it?" Rosita asked.

"This looks like am engine, right?" Minerva looked at the Doctor for confirmation, actually really hoping she was wrong.

But the Doctor nodded, still confused, "They're generating electricity. But what for?"

"We can set them free!" Jackson made to run towards the children.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." the Doctor pulled Minerva the way they'd came in through.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was checking the power readings back in the engines, "Power at 90%! But if we stop the engine, the power dies down, the Cybermen will come running. Ooh," he tapped the read-out, "Hold on. Power fluctuation. That's not meant to happen."

"It's going wrong?" Minerva looked at him.

"No, it's weird. The software's rewriting itself. It's changing," the Doctor stepped back from the machinery with Minerva as there was some kind of surge, "What the hell's happening? It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating. 96%, 97..." Jackson pointed at the changing numbers.

"But when it reaches 100, what happens to the children?" Minerva blinked as the realization hit the others.

"They're disposable. Come on!" the Doctor exclaimed.

~ 0 ~

It seemed like the Doctor had been right since the Cybermen started calling 'delete' and turning for the children while an alarm blared throughout the entire room. Jackson and Rosita began using the inforstamps on the Cybermen they could.

"Right. Now! All of you, out! D'you hear me? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!" the Doctor shouted to the children.

"All of you, come on! As fast as you can, come on!" Minerva gestured for the exit, ignoring the layer of sweat that was building up on her forehead.

She could withstand this heat, yes...but she probably needed to start slow as the Doctor had once said. But it didn't matter to her at the moment, there were children on danger and they needed to be put first.

"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!" the Doctor added.

"Just make sure _you_ don't bake it," Minerva shot him a teasing smile.

He playfully rolled his eyes and moved her towards Rosita, "You two need to get them out of the sluice gate! And once you're out, keep running! Far as you can!b he motioned for the children to keep going, "Come on, come on, come on."

"Turn right at the corner! Fast as you can, and don't stop! Keep running, keep running!" Rosita got on the job and went out first.

"But I can't leave you here," Minerva looked at the remaining children still struggling to get out.

"It's too hot and I'm not going to expose you so quick to this. GO," he pointed out.

"But I want to help you!".

"And by staying alive and healthy you are going to be doing me the _biggest_ favor in the world. Now go, please," he gave her a kiss and turned her on her way.

~ 0 ~

"Come on, come on! Quick! Keep running! Keep running!" Rosita shouted as the children burst out the doors.

"And don't stop!" Minerva added, taking a deep breath of the chilly air. It was a bit reassuring to be surrounded by her primary element. The only thing she hated was that she was once again _not_ helping the Doctor.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was still getting the last of the children out of the engine room, "Go! Quick, quick," he went over and check the gauge inside the room, "It's some sort of starter motor, but starting what?"

Jackson watched as some boys ran down from the higher reaches. He bad another flash of memory and suddenly remembered a _third_ person being in the cellar with him and his wife. It was a little boy being carried out by a Cyberman, _His_ little boy. His _child_.

Jackson looked up to the higher levels of the room and saw the same little boy standing in fear, completely frozen.

"That's my son... My son. Doctor, my son!" Jackson shouted.

The Doctor quickly ran over, "What!?" he looked up and saw the small boy.

"They took my son. No wonder my mind escaped! Those damned Cybermen, they took my child. But he's alive, Doctor! Frederic!"

"Come on!" the Doctor also called for the young boy.

"No, he's too scared. Stay there! Don't move! I'm coming." Jackson headed for the stairs but was blocked by a large explosion that led fire blocks, "I can't get up there. Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor. It's going to blow up," the Doctor said.

"What are we going to do, Doctor?! What are we going to do?!"

"Come on, Jackson," the Doctor pulled out the cutlass from Fairchild's home and wrapped his arm around as hope, "You know me," he cut the rope and the weight that fell on the other end lifted him straight up to Frederic, "Oh, that's it. Hello! Now, hold on tight. Don't let go," Frederic climbed onto the Doctor's back and the two swung off the platform.

After a couple minutes the two reemerged from the fires and the Doctor handed Frederic to Jackson, "Merry Christmas!"

Jackson hugged his son tightly and cried of joy.

~ 0 ~

"Go to St Stephen's. Ask for the Warden, he'll take care of you. Now run! Quickly!" Rosita gave the last of the children directions.

Upon seeing all the children gone, Minerva sucked in a big cold breath and headed back inside, determined to use this resistance to heat as best as possible. Rosita followed her but both stopped when they encountered people running in the opposite direction of them, looking horrified for some reason.

A man stopped by them to explain, "It's under the water! There's something in the Thames!"

Both women exchanged a glance before going to the river's edge where the Cyberking was rising from the water. It was a steampunk Cyberman that was towering over the city.

"Oh my god..." Minerva blinked.

~ 0 ~

"Head for the street," the Doctor ordered Jack's as they reached the entrance room of the cellar.

An explosion from the further inside cellar rocked the room. The Doctor quickly nabbed a scepter from the Dimensional Vault device and hurried out with Jackson.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Jackson, holding Frederic, reached the river where they took hold of the sight of the CyberKing.

"It's a CyberKing," the Doctor breathed.

"And a CyberKing is what?" Jackson asked.

"It's a ship! Dreadnought class! Front line of an invasion. And inside the chest, a Cyberfactory, ready to convert millions!" the Doctor led the humans down a street before he stopped and turned, "Take him south, go to the parkland."

"But where are you going?!"

"To stop that thing."

"I should be with you!"

"Jackson, you've got your son. You've got a reason to live."

"And you haven't?" Jackson countered, "Miss Souza is still out there," he reminded.

"She's with Rosita, away from all this danger and safe."

"But I'm sure she'd want to go with you!"

"Jackson, Minerva is quite _literally_ a princess with a whole kingdom to look after now. She's better off here."

"God save you, Doctor," Jackson said and parted ways.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor ran into the stables and began going through the trunks to find what he needed.

There came a clearing of a throat that made the Doctor look up and see Minerva standing at the threshold, "If you're going to use the TARDIS balloon, we're all set to go," she informed calmly.

"No, no, no, no, what are you doing here?" the Doctor left everything and hurried up to her, "You should be with Rosita and out of here!"

"And leave you here alone? I don't think so," she walked around him and further into the stables where the Doctor had been searching through a trunk, "So what do you need?"

"Minerva, for the love of God, GO BACK!" he ran after her, "Go South, just get away from here!"

Minerva peered into the trunk and took out the belt of infostamps, "You're gonna need this, right?" she looked up at him, calmly.

"Listen, please!" the Doctor begged.

"No, _you_ listen," she snapped, "I'm not staying down here while you go _alone_ to deal with an enemy. Those days are over. I'm not human anymore, I can do more things now, I can resist more things now. So button it up and tell me what we need to do."

The Doctor opened his mouth but found no words to make a comeback. It was true, he knew, that she could do more things. That didn't mean he wanted to expose her to even more danger! He didn't want her facing some mortal enemy that wasn't even hers. She shouldn't have to do any of that stuff, she had to take it easy...but it seemed like she thought otherwise...and what she said she wanted...she always got from him.

"I really hate I can't deny you anything," he sighed and gave up.

She beamed excitedly and grabbed his face, "Can't be that bad since you usually get one of these afterwards," she gave him a kiss that left him blinking with a haze.

"Right..." he looked around for a minute before clearing his throat, "...alright, those infostamps, with me!" Minerva grinned and did as told.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor tossed the infostamps into the hot air balloon basket and jumped in, swiftly helping Minerva inside afterwards.

"You're flamin' bonkers!" Jed called after them.

"It's been said before! Now gimme," the Doctor held his hand for the scepter which Jed handed over, "Not enough power, come on! Jed! Let her loose!" ed ran over to the ropes that secured the balloon and begun untying them, "Ever flown one of these before?"

"Nope! Never!" the Doctor pulled the ropes inside.

"Can I have my money now, Miss Souza?" Jed asked, sensing it was getting a bit unlikely.

"I promise I'll have it right after we come back," she flashed a sweet grin and then looked at the Doctor with a serious look, "I said I'd give him a lot of money. Can we not land here anymore?"

"I see you learned from me," he mumbled.

"Not learned but _absorbed_ ," she pointed to her head, "Get on with it, Jed!" she called.

Jed untied the last of the ropes and turned to watch the balloon floating upwards, "God's luck to you, sir, ma'am!" he laughed.

Minerva peered down, "Thank you! ...and sorry for lying!" she called, earning a laughter from the Doctor, "What? I felt bad," as they rose, Minerva began looking around the sandbags around them, "We'd best throw those out."

"I really think you should've stayed back..." the Doctor sighed and picked up one of the sandbags. Suddenly, he was forced to drop them as he was turned around and greeted with another kiss.

Minerva smiled determinedly after pulling away, "It's _us_ now, together. Forget the past, cos this is me now," she gripped his hand, "At your side... _always_."

The Doctor smiled and lifted their interlocked hands to his lips, "My Kaeya..."

Together, the Time Lord and the Moontsay worked hard and threw away the rest of the sandbags to rise even higher.

~ 0 ~

Inside the large Cyberking, where Miss Hartigan sat on a throne-like chair, an alarm went off, "Attention. Proximity alert!" a Cyberman beside the woman declared.

"How is that even possible? Oh, this I would see. TURN!" Miss Hartigan ordered and the whole Cyberking swiveled around in order to face the Doctor and Minerva, "Excellent. The Doctor! Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night."

"Fine, then listen to _me_ ," Minerva rolled her eyes, "You have the chance of an option, Miss Hartigan. If I were you, I'd listen."

"You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!" the Doctor gestured, truly impressed with the woman.

"I don't need you to sanction me," Miss Hartigan said.

"No, but such a mind deserves to live!" Minerva exclaimed frantically.

"The Cybermen came to this world using a Dimension Vault," the Doctor continued, "We can use that device to find you a home. With no people to convert. But a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace."

"I have the world below, and it is abundant with so many minds, ready to become extensions of me. Why would I leave this place?" Miss Hartigan questioned.

"Because if you don't, We'll have to stop you," Minerva sadly answered.

"What do you make of me? An idiot?"

"No. The question is, what do you make of us?" the Doctor aimed the infostamp at the Cyberking.

"Destroy them!"

"You make me into this," the Doctor mumbled before firing, utterly refusing to let Minerva touch it.

The beam hit the device on Miss Hartigan's head although it did no physical damage to her, "Then I have made you a failure. Your weapons are useless, sir."

"He wasn't trying to kill you," Minerva corrected, "The Cyber-connection is broken now...leaving your mind open, for the first time in many years I dare to think."

Miss Hartigan's eyes returned to normal as she started slowly looking around.

"Just look at yourself. Look at what you've done," the Doctor said as the Cybermen turned on the woman, the connection now being broken, "I'm sorry, Miss Hartigan. But look at what you've become."

Miss Hartigan realized her reality and started to scream as she looked from one Cyberman to another.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said quietly, only able to stare ahead.

As Miss Hartigan screamed the energy from her brain that was still being channeled through the machine started destroying the Cybermen, including herself. The Cyberking started staggering as several explosions went off throughout its body.

There came a beeping noise from the basket which made the Doctor look down and see the Dimensional Vault scepter was the culprit, "Oh. _Now_ you're ready!"

"Let me do it," Minerva bit her lip and offered her hands.

"Are you..."

Minerva sighed, it would be a long time before the Doctor would let her do things like this without one word of protest, "Just help me, then," she compromised and moved in front of her.

For the sake of time, the Doctor just went with it and set his hands over hers which then held the device, "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she nodded.

Together, the couple aimed the device at Cyberking and fired, making the ship disappear just as it started to fall.

~ 0 ~

The crowd below stared in awe as the great structure just disappeared out of thin air.

"I'd say he used that Dimension Vault to transfer the wreckage of the CyberKing into the Time Vortex, there to be harmlessly disintegrated," Jackson laughed at his words, "Oh, I've picked up a lot. But here..." he set Frederic down by Rosita and rushed to stand on the base of a lamp post, facing the whole crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know that man and woman! That Doctor and princess Minerva on high! And I know that they've done this deed a thousand times! But not once, no, sir, not once, not ever, have they ever been thanked! But no more! For I say to you, on this Christmas morn, "Bravo! Bravo!" the whole crowd began to cheer and applaud.

~ 0 ~

Minerva looked down and heard with great strength the crowd's cheer and applaud, "Look, they're cheering for you," she looked up and saddened a bit at seeing the Doctor a bit too lost in thoughts to take notice. She took his hands and forced him to look down, biting her lip at such excitement she contained, "Hear that? That's for you! Those are the people you _saved_. You can't be sad about that, or guilty for that ."

"No, _we_ saved them," the Doctor wound an arm around Minerva's waist and kissed her head.

"I didn't..." she tried but he simply covered her mouth and gave her a smirk.

"We saved them, a Time Lord and a Moontsay, I like the sound of that," he smiled, "...forevermore-," he jerked his hand away from her mouth the moment her teeth sunk into his finger, "Ow!"

Minerva flashed a sweet grin and moved over to a rope that worked a bell, "I wanna ring it!" she announced before ringing the bell. The Doctor just smiled as he rubbed his fingers for a minute before reaching for her and yanking her back. She squealed in surprise but let him nonetheless wind his arms around her, both then taking a moment to breath and relax.

Minerva smiled and looked up at him, "First adventure went off perfectly," she declared.

"Really?" he blinked in surprise.

She nodded, "Mhm, date with adrenaline? That's my kind of date. But you know what's missing?"

"What?"

"Snicker-doodles," she whispered.

"Ooh," he rested his chin on her shoulder, "That _is_ something that's missing..." he looked ahead and thought about something else that was missing on this Christmas...and he intended to fix that tonight.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Minerva and Jackson walked through the market, looking about as the people tried fixing the chaos that had emerged from the Cyberking.

"The city will recover, as London always does. Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come!" Jackson remarked.

"Funny how that always seems to happen," Minerva chuckled.

"And a new history begins for me. I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," Jackson looked over to Rosita and Frederic not too far away from them, Jed standing beside them.

"Now, take care of that one. She's marvelous," the Doctor warned.

"Frederic will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better. But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveller's Halt," Jackson paused and saw the pair look away, "A Christmas feast, in celebration, and in memory of those we have lost. You won't stay?"

"Like I said, you know me," the Doctor said.

"It's not really the usual," Minerva shrugged.

They stopped by the TARDIS and Jackson breathed at the sight of the blue box, "Oh! And this is it! Oh, if I might, Doctor? One last adventure?"

"Oh, be our guest," the Doctor unlocked the doors for him.

"Oh..." Jackson stepped inside and paused at the ramp to look at the console room, "Oh, my word. Oh," he walked up to the console just as the Doctor and Minerva stepped inside, "Oh, goodness me. But this is... But this is nonsense!"

Minerva giggled at the Doctor as he made a face of offense, "Well, that's one word for it!" the Doctor frowned.

"I'm just gonna step out before this gets bad," Minerva backed away until she hurried out.

"Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense!" Jackson continued, still laughing as he spun around to see every last detail, "How very, very silly! Oh, no. I can't bear it! Oh, it's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." and he ran out, "Oh! Oh, gracious. That's quite enough."

The Doctor just smiled and walked out as well, closing the door behind them. He cast a look around and found Minerva out where the snow fell with Rosita and Frederic, the brunette looking very focused at her hands for some reason.

"I take it this is goodbye," Jackson brought his attention back.

"Onwards and upwards," the Doctor apologetically smiled for not listening.

"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of The Doctor's life, you were never alone. All those bright and shining companions! But not any more?"

"No."

"Might I ask, why not?"

"They leave. Because they should, or they find someone else. And some of them…some die...I suppose, in the end…they break my heart."

Jackson felt the strong shift of mood and looked to the side, "But not everyone, right?"

The Doctor followed his gaze back to Minerva and immediately smiled again, "No, some come back and...make you fall in love."

~ 0 ~

Minerva let out a frustrated yelp, "Ah!"

Rosita was watching the woman pointing in midair, apparently she had the ability to move water and was trying to show it to Rosita and Frederic. Minerva thought that because it was colder outside and practically snowing, she'd have a better chance at actually doing it.

"Okay, okay, okay, I can do this," she took a deep breath.

"Maybe we should go back..." Rosita tried to say but was shushed with a finger.

"Quiet, please," Minerva bit her lip and stared at her finger, "I'm gonna do this," she focused harder and let out a small breath.

Suddenly, a small amount of water sprang from the tip of her finger. Rosita blinked with wide eyes while Frederic cheered.

"Ha! I did it!" Minerva exclaimed and clapped, "For two seconds, but those were _my_ two seconds! I did it, oh my god!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor had just finished explaining to Jackson about the past five months he and Minerva had to spend. And from recalling all those companions that were apparently not with either of the couple, Jackson made a declaration, ""That offer of Christmas dinner, it's no longer a request, it's a _demand_."

"In memory of those we've lost," the Doctor agreed, "Oh, go on then!"

"Really?"

"Just this once. You've actually gone and changed my mind. No one can do that except Minerva," the Doctor paused for a second to look at Jackson, "Jackson, if anyone had to be The Doctor, I'm glad it was you."

"The feast awaits. Come with me! Walk this way.

The Doctor checked the doors before following Jackson, "I certainly will!"

"Doctor! Doctor! I did it again!" Minerva called him over once she saw him and Jackson nearing.

"I made water! It came out of my own finger, I created it!" she wiggled her fingers, "I've never actually created water yet!"

"Really?" he smiled at her excitement.

"It came out of her finger," Frederic explained, still excited from actually seeing it, "It went whoosh!" he mimicked the way the snow had emerged.

"See? I'm not lying," Minerva pointed to the small boy, "You know what they say, kids and drunk people always speak the truth. Plus, Rosita saw too."

"I guess I did..." Rosita admitted.

"It was for two seconds but I did it!" Minerva laughed so happily.

"I am so proud of you," the Doctor moved up and hugged her, "You're on your way again."

"I know, I'm so happy!"

"How about we bring some of that happiness over to a Christmas feast?"

"With them?" Minerva pulled away and looked at Jackson with surprise, "You convinced him?"

"Apparently, I did," Jackson nodded.

"Wow! Let's go then!" she took the Doctor's hand and gestured for them to lead the way.

"Merry Christmas to you, Jackson," the Doctor said as they began walking.

"Merry Christmas, indeed, Doctor and Minerva," Jackson replied with content.

~ 0 ~

"Where are we going, Doctor?" Minerva laughed as he pulled her out of the TARDIS.

"Just close your eyes, Clever Girl, it's a surprise!" the Doctor put his hand over her eyes and carefully led her.

The couple had had a very nice Christmas feast with Jackson and Rosita, ate till they really couldn't fit anything more. Upon saying goodbye to the humans, the Doctor had made her wait two minutes inside the console room where he rushed inside the corridors to retrieve something. Being who she was and her amount of curiosity, she had tried stepping inside the corridors only to have the TARDIS outright refuse to allow her to follow the Doctor. She'd been stumped to have even the _TARDIS_ trying to keep this surprise.

"Okay, open," the Doctor removed his hand from her eyes and allowed her to see the new environment she was now in.

She was confused for a minute when she realized she was in China again. It was a small area of a park where trees surrounded them in a near-like circle. Between each tree were several pots with little flowers just sprouting out from the dirt. She smiled upon seeing each tree bearing a folded paper that she could only guess were some kinds of riddles.

"Are we going to be solving riddles for Christmas?" she looked at the Doctor who stood beside her.

"Yes, but I'm gonna make a bet with you," he turned to face her.

"Oh?"

"I bet that you can't go through each of these riddles and solve all of them."

"Hm, how many tries would I get?"

He thought for a second, "Well, there's twelve riddles so you get thirteen tries. Can you handle it?"

"Oh, I can handle it. Let's not forget who kicked your behind the last time we competed," she turned and looked at the riddles and crossed her arms, "What's the wager?"

"If I win, you...have to do whatever I say for an entire week. That includes not following me around when things get dangerous."

"Doctor," Minerva began to complain.

"Please just give me that," the Doctor cut in, "I just want to keep you safe."

She sighed and nodded, "Alright, alright, I accept. But if _I_ win, you let me do as I please and help you whenever there's an enemy around."

"Accepted," he held his hand which she shook, "Go ahead start over there," he walked her over to the left side.

Minerva rolled her eyes and took the first paper off the trunk and opened it up, reading it aloud, "What did one electric bulb say to the other?" she made a face, "That's not a riddle."

"Oh right, did I forget to mention some were just questions?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Ah! You cheater!" she pointed.

He smirked, "The challenge was just accepted, so you continue now."

She made a face and looked back at the paper, "Alright, alright, ' _what did the boy bulb say to the girl bulb?_ '...what..." she looked over to the Doctor who just continued smirking, "Oh alright, just give me the answer for this one."

He sauntered up to her, his smirk never fading, "I love you a whole WATT!"

Minerva could not help the small laughter she gave up, "The rest of these better not be some cheesy pick up lines or jokes!" she warned and pushed the paper to him.

"I make no promises," he warned as he stepped back.

She shook her head and moved on to the next tree, plucking off the paper and reading it.

 _"They have the power to entice_

 _The exploration of their depths are never suffice_

 _They are the subject of all romantic lines_

 _They come in Blue, black or hazel shades_

 _Name them!"_

Minerva smirked and looked back at the Doctor, "Eyes."

He nodded in confirmation, "Correct."

She moved to the third tree, and read it outloud.

 _Begins with L and ends with Y_

 _With its presence relationships survive_

 _Through slightest inkling of its loss_

 _Instant separation can be caused._

"Loyalty," she easily said and gave the paper to the Doctor.

 _"At the surface or within_

 _It has the power to woo you and win_

 _For Keats it was joy forever_

 _If you have it, it will get you favors"_

"Easy, beauty," Minerva shrugged and handed the paper over to the Doctor.

"And boy do you own that," the Doctor breathed as he gazed her over.

She blushed and walked over to the next tree.

 _"I represent love._

 _I'm the daughter of Heaven and Sea._

 _You may find me in the sky above, and many envy my beauty."_

"The goddess Venus," Minerva responded, looking at the Doctor, "One of my favorite goddesses."

"Is she still your favorite?" the Doctor asked, genuinely curious seeing as she'd been very sure of her favorite in her last incarnation.

"It's still Minerva," she confirmed and gave him the paper.

"Still as beautiful as a goddess, though," he gave her a kiss on her head.

She bit her lip and moved onto the next tree, taking off the paper and opening it up.

 _"A tested formula of love_

 _Inevitable part of love stories_

 _The romantic dim light and good food are its friends_

 _It never goes out of trend."_

Minerva thought on that one really hard, not about to let the Doctor win. She'd won the first time and she'd win the second time, especially if it meant he wouldn't stop her from coming with him whenever there was danger. Suddenly she smirked and looked back at the Doctor, "Easy, a candle-light dinner," she waved the paper at him, "Someone is going to lost real bad again."

He playfully rolled his eyes and took the paper from her, motioning for her to continue. With a proud smile she moved onto the next tree and grabbed the paper.

 _"Made by God in pairs_

 _I am just two and two_

 _I am warm, I am cold,_

 _I am lawful, unlawful_

 _A duty, a fault_

 _I am often sold dear,_

 _Good for nothing when bought;_

 _An extraordinary boon,_

 _and a matter of course,_

 _and yielding with pleasure_

 _When taken by force."_

Minerva's pride exchanged into a soft smile, "A kiss..."

Suddenly, she was spun around by a pair of arms where her lips were greeted by another pair of warm lips. She smiled into the kiss and forgot about the challenge for a second as she kissed back.

"Yielding with pleasure indeed," the Doctor agreed, resting his forehead on hers.

"Oh shush," she blushed and playfully hit his chest, "Now let me continue these riddles so I can kick your butt and then continue kissing you," she wiggled out of his arms and rushed for the next riddle.

 _"It caused the destruction of Troy,_

 _The worst of tragedies_

 _And numerous maladies_

 _Yet it is chased, desired and fought for_

 _What is it?"_

"Love," Minerva answered and held the paper for the Doctor, "Are all these going to be related to couples?"

 _"I thought it fit," he shrugged._

 _She nodded and moved on again._

 _"Separated at birth on Earth_

 _Found after years of search_

 _Inseparable for the rest of the time."_

"Soul mates," Minerva whispered, looking at the Doctor again, "You weren't even looking and you found me again."

"And I don't plan on letting you go _ever_ ," he promised.

She gave him the paper and moved on again.

 _"This word is a favorite of girls_

 _Boys are unnerved on the mention of it_

 _Once love finds its accompaniment_

 _It becomes a lifelong event "_

"Easy, it's forever," Minerva chuckled, "Although my Martian never ran away from me for saying forever."

"Why would I?" he shrugged, "I had a goddess at my side, where am I supposed find someone like that?"

"I don't know, nearly every women we meet wants you," she crossed her arms.

"Yet I only want the woman in front of me," he smiled.

"And I only want the Martian standing in front of me," she blushed and moved to the second to last tree. She thought it was odd because he had said thirteen riddles and yet there were only twelve...

 _"Declaration of love_

 _Beginning of a journey_

 _With vows and a ceremony."_

"Marriage," she closed the paper and pondered for a while.

There came a noise nearby and someone stepped from around the last tree, "This is the last one," Martha Jones declared with a beaming smile as she held the last riddle in her hand.

"Martha?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Martha!" she suddenly remembered she hadn't seen her best friend in over five months. She quickly rushed up and hugged her so tightly, "Oh my god, Martha!"

Martha laughed, "Alright, alright, just take the riddle will you?"

"Do you know the answer?" Minerva whispered as she pulled away.

"Yes."

"...you're not telling the answer are you?"

"Nope."

Minerva sighed and took the paper from Martha, "Impartial Martha Jones," she shook her head and read the riddle, unaware of Martha and the Doctor moving away from her.

Minerva's eyes widened as she finished the riddle,

 _''Testimony of love_

 _Signifier of commitment_

 _All it needs is a_ _bottle of wine_

 _And a band that shines''_

"A...proposal..." she said slowly, her voice hushed in a whisper.

Someone cleared their throat from behind which made Minerva turn around to find the Doctor on _one knee_ holding up a small black box in his hands. Further behind was Martha...and walking in from behind the trees was Donna...Mickey...Stacey...her grandmother...her father...her uncle...even Cody...

"Oh..." Minerva stumbled back, her hand going up to her mouth. Her eyes fell back on the Doctor, "You're...you're actually..." she swallowed.

Suddenly, one of the plant pots fell to the ground with a loud crash. It made Minerva flinch and look around, confusing her for a second since no one was near it. However, her attention was diverted back to the Doctor in front of her.

He wore a small, _nervous_ , smile as he looked at his Clever Girl, "I know we've joked around about this, even pretended to be husband and wife once...but I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to joke, I don't want to pretend, I want it to be _real_. I asked you once before this and looking back at it, I'm glad you turned me down."

Minerva made a face, a bit confused, "Um...you are?"

He smiled and nodded, "You deserved a better proposal than that. You deserved more thought into it so I'm glad you told me no. It gave me the opportunity to create all this for you, these riddles for you...and now," he paused, swallowing hard. He could feel his hearts nearly bursting inside his chest and his mouth go dry as he prepared to ask his dire question, "My Clever Girl, I've loved you for centuries and I'll love you for centuries more. Will you marry me?" he opened up the small box and revealed an Earthly diamond ring inside.

Minerva breathed in heavily, all words evading her mind. Although there was one word that popped in less than a second after the question had been asked, "YES!" she laughed and dropped onto the Doctor into a hug, making him drop the box on the floor, "Oh Martian, did you even have to _ask_!?" she peppered kiss his face throughout her excitement and laughter, "Yes! Yes! YES!"

"Oi, clever sister, pick up the ring and _then_ kiss the spaceman!" Donna shouted but neither took notice of it.

"You said yes," the Doctor replayed Minerva's words as she finally pulled away, "You said..."

"YES," they said together.

"You are amazing, have I told you that?" she looked around the place, her family and friends behind, "You did all this for me?"

"One does not simply just ask a goddess to marry a simple Martian," he cupped her face, "He has to make it worthy of her."

"Good job, then," she went ahead and kissed him.

In the meantime they kissed, the Doctor's hand searched for the fallen ring box and pulled away when he had finally found it. He held it between him and Minerva and whispered, "You forgot this."

"Oops, yeah," she beamed as he stood her up along with him. He took her left hand and slid the ring on her ring finger. Minerva yelped out of excitement and turned to face the others, "I'm getting married! We're getting married!"

The rest of the group rushed over and hugged the newly-engaged couple.

~ 0 ~

Minerva sat cross-legged on a couch inside the TARDIS library with a blue blanket around her while she read a book. The Doctor walked inside carrying a plate of snicker-doodles which immediately brought Minerva out of her reading.

"Oh those smell delicious," she bit her lip as he set the cookies down on the table in front of the couch.

"Fresh out of the oven," the Doctor commented as he sat down.

"It's not a Christmas without it," Minerva reached for one of the cookies, her book dropping out of her lap to the floor as she did.

"I got it," the Doctor reached for the book as Minerva moved back to allow him to reach the book.

"Mm, delicious," Minerva savored her cookie.

"Of course, we made them," he reminded as he opened the book up.

"You're getting better, Martian, not one flour spill," Minerva said to him with a small smirk, "Now we just gotta work on your mixing skills."

"I showered, I'm fine now," he ran a hand through his dampened hair.

After their time in China, and a small celebration party, the pair had returned to bake their traditional snicker-doodles they baked each Christmas. And, while the Doctor managed not to let the flour explode throughout the room...the electronic mixer was another story. For some reason, he had lifted up the mixers while it was still _on_ and splattered himself. Thankfully, Minerva had been prepared and had multiple sets of cookie dough to continue baking with while he hopped into the shower.

"Yes you are," Minerva nodded, reaching to stroke the hair on the nape of his neck.

"Don't do...that..." he breathed, even shivering a bit.

Minerva raised an eyebrow, confused at his request, "Why not?"

"Cos then I'll want to kiss you and kiss and kiss..." he looked her over, "...until we're in your room..." he blushed and quickly looked ahead, "...doing stuff..."

She giggled and set her almost-eaten cookie on the plate, "Well I thank you for your consideration concerning my request. You've been a very good boy," she scooted closer to him and bundled up in her blanket again.

He kissed the top of her head and smiled, "Of course. So let's try not to tempt me alright? _Fiancee_?"

Minerva blushed at the mention of the last word, "Fiancee..." she whispered, "...I love it, I love that," she looked up, "I love you."

"I love seeing that ring on your finger," he pulled her hand out from her blanket and kissed her ring finger, "And I love you."

"You know, I don't want to be like an actual Earth women that has to wait _months_ to marry the man she loves..." she reached for the book he held.

"You don't?"

"No," she shook her head, "I've waited centuries for this and I refuse to wait months. Let's get married at the end of the week of Earth time. That'll give everyone else time to pick out dresses and get out of work. What do you think?"

"I'll marry you whenever you say," he wound an arm around her waist.

"So...the end of the week?" she looked up at him.

"Yes," he pushed a strand of her hair back, "The end of the week."

"Great! There's just one thing I'm not sure about..."

"What?"

" _Where_ to get married," she smiled, "I mean, there's so many places to think of. I don't know where..."

"How about the Monsoon? That's where we met for the first time?" he suggested.

"No, I want it to be on Earth," she got on her knees and turned to him, her hands resting on either side of his face, "Cos that's where all our happiness really came from. That's where we wanted to go centuries back, it's where we re-met, where we finally became a couple, traveled together like we always wanted to," she blushed and suddenly whispered, "Where we finally shared our first night together," he also blushed, "It's where we fell in love with each other all over again...Earth has a lot of meaning to us, don't you think? Don't you think it's only right we marry on that beautiful planet?"

The Doctor softly smiled removed her hands from his face to kiss each one, "I think you are 100% correct, my Clever Girl."

"So we'll marry at the end of the week on Earth," she beamed, giving him an abrupt kiss. She then opened up the book she'd been reading and sighed, "Okay, so, um... _where_ exactly? Like, specifically where? Cos we can do the traditional modern day marriage or we can try China, or Japan, or the 1950's...and I'm only listing those because they have a meaning to us and our relationship. But what are your ideas? I'm open to anything you say."

"Um...I don't know exactly," he scratched his head as he thought, "I just want to marry you, the place doesn't come to mind."

"Well, we better think of something cos we only have a couple days," Minerva nudged him.

"Minerva, what about your wedding dress? Isn't that something big?"

"I don't care, I just want to hear 'you may now kiss the bride'," she smiled.

"That'll be my favorite part too," he smirked.

"Really? Why's that?" she teased.

"Oh, I don't know..." he wrapped both his arms around her, 'discreetly' pulling her closer.

Minerva smirked as she looked down, "Hm, I'd like for you to explain it though. I'm curious, you know..." she innocently said.

"Oh alright, it'll be my favorite part because I'll get to give a first kiss to my _wife_."

"Oooh, I like the sound of that," Minerva shifted and rested her hands on his shoulders, "Wife. But you know what'll be _my_ favorite part?"

"What?"

"When I get to dance with all the other men that attend the ceremony," she smirked, awaiting the usual reaction from the Doctor when it came to jealousy, "Ever heard of the money dance? I get to dance with all the men at the party and they stick dollar bills on my dress. It's a laugh!"

"Wh-NO. No," the Doctor found no 'laughs' from that idea, "That's not supposed to be your favorite part!" he frowned, "It's supposed to be dancing with _me_. Your _husband_ ," he pointed to himself, "You're only dancing with _me_...and maybe your father...but other than that, only _me_."

Minerva laughed and decided to tease him a little more, loving his adorable frown, "But it's a tradition in my human family. The bride dances with all the men that attend the wedding. So that'll be Mickey of course, cos he's my best friend," the Doctor rolled his eyes but let that one slide, Mickey as far as he knew had eyes somewhere else that wasn't Minerva, "And then my father, my uncle, Cody..." the frown on the Doctor's face deepened slightly, "...and then there's Jack-"

"NO," he immediately pointed, "Absolutely _not_. No. Nope. Not one bit."

"You have got to be kidding me," Minerva rolled her eyes, "Jack is just a friend, he's got eyes somewhere else too you know."

"No!"

"Why not? Cos he'll 'flirt and _make me uncomfortable_ '?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, teasing him with his oh-so-creative lie.

"Yes!"

She laughed, "Gosh I was so oblivious back then, 'cos he'll make me uncomfortable', as if! You were bloody jealous and I couldn't see it!"

"Fine yes, I was and I am. No dancing with other men, please?" he pouted, genuinely asking her," his arms around her bringing her up against him, "Just me? Only me, say only me, please?"

"Oh alright," she sighed.

"Yes!" he pecked her lips, "Now how about we go off to sleep to be wide awake tomorrow to begin on our wedding preparations?"

"Oh I don't want to go, I'm so comfortable here," she admitted.

"What do you suggest, then?"

"We're in a library, in a very comfortable couch with a very warm blanket..." she gestured, "...what if we stay here?"

"In the library?"

"In the library," she repeated, her hand running up and down his chest in an attempt to get a quicker 'yes' from him.

"Well-w-well...yes, sure..." he breathed, stopping her running finger, "...whatever my princess wishes."

"Good, and now help me with one last thing?"

"What is it?"

"Give me one last hell of a snog as boyfriend and girlfriend before our wedding?" she raised an eyebrow, her smile widening when he saw the blush quickly form on his face, "Cos the next days are going to be completely full of work!"

"I can help with that," he nodded.

"And then we really gotta figure our where we'll be getting married," she pushed her blanket down.

"Yup, sure," his eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips every second or so.

She giggled as she started kissing him and even pushing him down on the couch. Without a word, his arms went on her back and pressed her against him and kissed her harder, making sure to give her one hell of a snog as she had asked...because what his Clever Girl wanted, he would always give.

* * *

 _Author's Vote:_

Can you all hear the wedding bells!? I absolutely _adored_ writing the proposal! I felt like it just fit perfectly into their relationship, the way it was formed and stuff. So what did you think of the chapter altogether? I'll be honest, you'll start seeing more of what this new Minerva is like in the next story...with 11 ;)

And omg are you guys ready for the season finale!? I am so excited for it! 12 be looking mighty good ;)

 _For Reviews:_

Oh yes, I think you'll love this new Minerva lol Oh, I've been thinking of the 50th anniversary too since I'm writing the 7th season right now and I have a couple ideas for that chapter. I just know I'll love writing all 3 Doctors with her ^.^ Hope you liked the new chapter then :)

Yeah, we always do tamales but this year my dad really wanted to try turkey so we went for it and it turned out to be just as good. Yes! At that moment, Minerva was feeling all the darkness and pain from her previous life which unfortunately took her over for a good moment. Enjoy the maturity because 11 is like the complete opposite. I always felt like 10 looked/seemed more tired during that episode with Rose, like he was just resigned to losing her. And in this story, after everything that had just happened with Minerva, I didn't think he would have the energy nor the desire to go off on her when he had to look after Minerva and recent regeneration. Oh for the 50th, I've kinda already chosen a point in timeline for 10 which I think will just make it all the funnier considering where 11 and Minerva are going to be in lmao and with Clara! Clara will have a twist which I think will provide for some tears for 10's Minerva ;)  
Favorite DW episodes? All time episode was The Unicorn and the Wasp from s4! And maybe Hide from s7? Listen was good too but it made sob when it was revealed Clara was like the origin base of the Doctor's fear in the dark , The Robin hood episode was just hilarious, it showed the Doctor was just as childish as 11 and 10 xD. Sorry, no Marvel for me. The only thing related to that is my beginning of Jessica Jones?

I'M SORRY BUT IT'S OKAY THEY'RE OKAY NOW! They're getting married lol And yes, new Minerva for the story, you'll love it and her! Curly hair and all lmao

So...next chapter...anyone up for a wedding? ;)


	23. Star-Crossed Lovers

Minerva and Zohar stood inside the castle that was still in the works, and in the sitting room where Minerva finished telling Zohar about the recent news.

"You're really getting married!?" Zohar squealed like a little five year old at the news, making Minerva laugh, "Oh my moon's sake! That's fantastic!"

"Yeah?" Minerva was so relieved to hear that another Moontsay besides her was happy to know she was getting married, she only hoped her grandfather would have the same reaction when she told him.

"Yes! When is it!?"

"In a couple hours," Minerva replied, "Stacey, Donna, and Martha are already working so all you need to do is take this," she handed Zohar a vortex manipulator, "And just teleport to that location," she pointed to the already inscribed coordinates, "And don't even try moving it, alright?"

"Got it, princess. So, how's about that dress? Do you have one? Cos you know the Moontsays here are already working on your wardrobe."

"No, I don't want them to know yet," Minerva clarified, "Plus, I've got my dress on Earth already. But as for the Moontsays, I'm going to talk to my grandfather and see what he thinks and then once I'm married I'll announce it to the people."

"How do you think Mayar's going to take it?" Zohar asked...right when Mayar himself entered the room.

"What am I supposed to take?" Mayar looked from one woman to the other.

Minerva looked at Zohar and nodded for her to leave them alone for the moment, "I'll see you there," she called after Zohar.

"Of course," Zohar left the room.

"Hi grandpa..." Minerva waved nervously.

"Kaeya, what is going on? You may have regenerated twice but it's still pretty easy to tell when you're hiding something," Mayar crossed his arms, "Your father had that same look whenever he did something wrong."

"I didn't do anything wrong and I'm not hiding anything," she clarified, "That's why I'm here," she gestured to the spot she stood in, "Up front, telling you face to face."

"What's there to tell?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Okay look, I'm just gonna come out and say it..." she took a deep breath, "...the Doctor and I are getting married today, couple hours actually," she checked her watch.

Mayar's eyes widened, his arms dropping to his sides, "You're...you're _what_?"

"I'm getting married and...I'd really love it if you'd come," she hurried up to him, taking his hand, "We've chosen this little place on Earth where all our friends are gonna come and...and I'd really, really, really, really, _really_ want you to be there too. You're adapted far enough to last at least an hour on earth which is all I need from you and..."

Mayar took his hand away from hers, making her sigh. She watched silently as the man began pacing back and forth, only guessing what he'd have to say about this.

"You are out of your _mind_!" he began with a clear ole shout, "You can't get _married_! You're just a girl!"

"Now grandpa," she put her hands on her hips, "You and I both know that I am way past the coming of age for the Moontsay's. I'm 903 years old and perfectly capable of being a wife...sort of..." she admitted she had no clue how to be a perfect wife but she'd work on it really hard to keep the Doctor happy.

"But you're not even ready to take the reigns of the kingdom!" Mayar continued, "Not to mention you're getting married to a _Time Lord_ ," he spat like it was the worst thing possible, which for him really was, "Can you imagine what the people are going to say about this?"

"May I remind you that we are all Time Lords in a way," Minerva began her case with the obvious, "We're of the same species-"

"No, we are _not_ _!"_ Mayar snapped, "My people aren't the cause of dozens of species' demise!"

"And neither is the Doctor!" Martha exclaimed, "Grandfather, this is my life, it's my heart, and I want to get married. And as for the kingdom, if you really think I'm unfit to rule it, then you should take the throne."

"I'm not the designated royal anymore, that's _your_ job now. It's _your_ responsibility to uplift this kingdom and you cannot run away from it!"

"I'm not trying to runaway from anything. I've been here haven't I? It's been five months of learning and learning and learning. I've had to meet every last Moontsay on this planet _three times_ and I still remember all the names and faces. I'm doing my job, but it's not going to direct my life. Not anymore.

"But Kaeya, a Time Lord?" he waved his hands, "He's not the right one! You...you should be marrying someone else, someone Moontsay, or...or a prince, an actual prince."

"I'm marrying the right man, grandfather. We've been in love for centuries and it's finally happening. _I_ get to marry him now, it's my title now," she sighed, "You loved my grandmother to pieces, right?" he nodded, "Imagine having to learn the fact that she was getting married to some other man..."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because that's what happened to me a long time ago. Back when I was a girl, like you'd say, the Doctor used to come here and visit me," his eyes widened, recalling the Doctor had mentioned something of that the first time they'd met, "We had so many plans for us...in the future...and then one day, one _awful_ day, he visited me and he was so heartbroken. And do you know why?" she shook her head, the tears fresh in her eyes as she recalled that moment, "Because he was going to be married off to another woman...that wasn't _me_ ," she pointed to herself, "It was all arranged and neither he or his fiancee had a word in it. He cried, he actually _cried_ because he didn't want to marry her. He said he wanted to marry _me_ but there was nothing he could do. We couldn't escape because I couldn't leave this planet...and after everything, I gathered all my courage and strength to tell him that it would be fine. I told him, _I_ told him to marry that woman. I told him that there was nothing we could do. He was only wasting his time with me. I told him that I wanted him to be happy, to form a family of his own...I told him not to worry, that he should marry and simply forget about me."

"And the bastard happily went and married another woman, didn't he?" Mayar angrily demanded, wanting her to see just how easily she was forgotten upon the Doctor meeting another woman.

"Don't call him that," she scolded, "He married...but he still came back. He came back every day to visit me. He said he'd told his wife everything, how he met me and how he'd still be meeting me."

"Kaeya you didn't...?" Mayar's eyes widened with terror at what that man could have persuaded his granddaughter to be and do for him.

"Nothing happened. We were friends, only friends. He had a wife and I respected that. That woman was so kind that she let him come to me whenever he wanted," Minerva bitterly laughed, "She even sent me gifts from Gallifrey once. For my birthday, the Doctor's wife actually sent me a gift. She was kind and I was awful, cos I still loved her husband. Grandfather, I had to live knowing that I could never have the man I wanted. I watched him live his life, have children, even grandchildren...while I remained on this planet, unwed and never courted."

"Which is why you would turn down any suitor your father or I ever brought to you," Mayar nodded as he understood, "So many proper suitors for you, only the best for the princess of the Silver Monsoon...and all that time she was wasting her time with a Time Lord who only played with her feelings."

"I was never fooled, grandfather. Don't you get it?"Minerva sighed and rubbed the side of her head, "I knew about everything. We never hid anything from each other. I was in love with another man and I wouldn't accept any suitor, both for mine and their sake's. Everyone deserves to marry someone who loves them. I wouldn't be the reason for someone's unhappiness."

"And that woman? The one the Doctor married. How do you think she felt knowing _you_ were the 'other woman'? Hm?"

"I wasn't the other woman. I was _a_ woman, a _friend_ , his _best friend._ Nothing more, I swear. I spent centuries alone, never kissed, never touched, only to watch the people I love be happy. So now that it's finally falling into place, are you really not going to accompany me to my wedding? I really want you and my adoptive father to walk me down the aisle."

"That wedding would be an abomination, Kaeya. I cannot approve of that. You are a princess, you are to be married to someone who didn't destroy our planet!"

Minerva shook her head, wiping away some loose tears, "I knew this would be a mistake, but I had to try. You'll never agree to it, won't you?"

"No, I won't. I need you to stop this nonsense and stay here once and for all."

"No. I will not run from my responsibilities. I will try to be a good princess and a good leader. But apart from that, I _will_ get married and it _will_ be to the a Time Lord, whether you like it or not," she stepped forwards and pulled out another vortex manipulator, "I'm gonna leave this here," she set it on a glass table, "And if you decide to come, then I will await with great joy. But if you don't...then that'll be your problem cos I'm not stopping that wedding for anything. My story is finally coming to a happy ending, and I'm not gonna let anyone ruin it."

"You cannot become queen like this," he warned.

She shrugged, "Then I won't be queen."

"Kaeya," Mayar sighed, frustrated, "Won't you please think about this!?"

"Oh I've thought about this for centuries," she half-smiled, "Dreamed of it...and today it happens. So if you won't allow me to be queen because of this, then do what you have to do. Find someone else, take the throne, I don't care."

"Of course I'm not gonna take the throne from you. It's _you_ that has to be queen, following into you're father's and mother's footsteps," Mayar shook his head, "But the people will not be happy about this."

"I don't care," she whispered, tired of repeating the same thing over and over, "Cos I deserve this. I deserve to be happy too. If they can marry whoever they want, then why can't I?"

"Kaeya, what am I gonna do with you!?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "But right now, I'm gonna go visit my parent's, my grandfather's and sister's shrine. I'm gonna ask for their blessings and then I'll be on my way."

"That's another thing I meant to talk about with you, you know," Mayar pointed.

She sighed, "I told you. Alan Lozano and Olivia Souza were my grandfather and sister as a human and they will be recognized on that shrine. That's my final word as princess on it."

"But Kaeya, it's a holy shrine. _Humans_ can't be placed on it!"

"You're forgetting _I'm_ part human now. I won't ignore it. My grandfather's and Liv's shrines will be finished, that's an order. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go visit it. I really hope you come to my wedding. I'm all you have left, and you're all I have left...won't you watch your granddaughter happily marry?"

Mayar did not answer, he simply turned away. Minerva sighed and headed out of the room. She truly hated arguing with him. They'd been apart for so long that she just really wanted to catch up on everything. But the man was very complicated, he still stuck to the old views of the Moontsays like the rest. He saw the Doctor as a menace and an intruder. She knew it was very unlikely to see Mayar at her wedding. But she had done her job and informed him of the ceremony and even given him a way to get there. She'd done what a good princess would do...now it was just up to him.

~ 0 ~

Minerva slowly walked into a solitary, cold, iced room that held four iced statues, two of those still under construction. The room was rather large with open windows high above. The finished two iced statues were of her parents, her birth parents, that were carved together as one. They stared blankly ahead, her father father holding her mother by the waist and a hand. On the platform they stood was an actual photograph of them placed at their feet.

Minerva stopped in front of that platform first and knelt down silently, looking up at the iced statue with a small sigh, "I really hope you're not angry as my grandfather is. But I really need your blessing from wherever you are. Mom, dad, I love him. I really, really, love him. This is a day I've dreamt of since we met face to face. I promise that I will help our people, I won't ignore them. I swear. But please, all I ask is that you give me your blessing; bless this marriage and whatever it may hold for us in the future," she placed an iced sphere on the platform, "I remember now that you loved to eat these, dad," she chuckled lightly, "Now that I taste them, they really taste like strawberries. And here you go mom," she put another sphere down, "You know, this one tastes like mint chocolate. Now I understand where I got that like from," she stood up and stepped back, gazing upon the great statue, " _I love you, mother, father,_ " she spoke her first words in the language of her people.

She'd been practicing her Moontsay language from the first day she'd begun her lessons with her grandfather. Yes, she still knew a good amount of her home language but she felt like some things were missing and had decided to continue using her English. The Moontsay language was something special and should always be used properly.

Minerva moved on to the next two statues, one of her grandfather and another of Liv. Both statues were still unfinished, her grandfather's still missing half his upper body while Liv's missing the arms. She placed on her grandfather's platform an apple and smiled, "Look at me now grandpa, I'm in the actual stars. Oh, you would've loved to see them. They're rather gorgeous. I know humans don't release spirits like the Moontsays but I still believe in the afterlife and I know that you're okay, and that you're watching me. You know, you've seen, how much I love that Martian, I know you'll give me a blessing too."

With that, she moved onto the last statue, Liv's. She sighed and placed down an orange tulip next to Liv's picture frame, "I can't believe you forgave me," she knelt down in front of the platform, "I'm glad you had someone with you during your last moments. You met the most amazing man, right? He's really sorry he couldn't do anything for you, but he did give me your message. You forgave me, Liv," she started sniffling, "You actually forgave me. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I'm so sorry for what happened to you, and I swear that I will always remember you as a good sister...cos you were one. I can remember every last moment we shared as kids, before you grew afraid of me. They were wonderful. But now, big sister, I'm all grown up...and I'm getting married. You think you can give a blessing too? It'd mean the world to me after everything," she looked up with watery eyes and found her tulip on the floor. Slightly confused, Minerva picked up the tulip and put it back on the platform, "Well...I'm off to go do it. I'm gonna get married..." she bit her lip, "...right after one more trip."

~ 0 ~

"Yes, and I need those papers taken by _today_ ," Sophia Souza called to her assistant as they walked out of her office.

Before the door closed, Minerva walked in, staying by the doorway to look at her adopted mother.

"Kate, what are you still doing here? I already gave you the..." Sophia stopped when she looked up, seeing the woman that to her was completely unknown, "Who the hell are you?"

Minerva closed the door and walked up to the desk, "Your daughter."

"What? Listen, I am fairly busy as you can see," she gestured to the stack of papers on her desk, "So whatever you need, please just say-"

"I'm getting married mother," Minerva spoke in a harder tone, "Your second daughter, _Minerva_ , is getting married."

Sophia studied the woman in front of her, stopping at the chocolate brown eyes where she gasped, "Minerva..."

"It's me," Minerva insisted, "I...I had to change my face..."

"You finally did it, you turned back to your alien self," Sophia leaned back on her chair, feeling that same fear and yet awe she had felt 17 years ago, "I gotta say, it's pretty intriguing how you manage to do that..."

"I'm getting married today, and...I was wondering if you'd like to attend."

Sophia let out a small laughter, "Married? Who are you marrying?"

"The Doctor."

And Sophia's laughter was cut short at that, "Oh, of course," she rolled her eyes, "And you're doing it here? On a planet that doesn't belong to you?"

"Forgive me mother but I've lived here for 17 years and the Doctor for far more years than that. We love this planet with equal strength and can think of no better place than this one to marry in."

"And do you think he'd be pleased to see _me_ there?"

"He would welcome you because I'd ask him to."

Sophia scoffed, "Oh really?"

Minerva nodded, "He knows how important it is and he'd never deny me the opportunity to see my only breathing mother at my wedding."

"Breathing mother?"

There was silence for a minute or two before Minerva decided to explain, "My birth mother died in a war, along with my biological father."

"Oh, so I'm all you have left," Sophia stood up and swayed her head, "When's the wedding?"

"It's tonight...are you coming?"

"Never," Sophia spat, her tone and expression growing dark, "The only wedding I'd attend to is my _real_ daughter's...and that is _not you_."

"I'm the only daughter you have left," Minerva argued weakly, "I lived with you for fourteen years and that doesn't matter to you? I grew alongside Olivia and-"

" _You_ killed her!" Sophia pointed, "You with your radical emotions, you killed her!"

"My emotions control my powers but at that moment they weren't activated," Minerva informed, "She died because of what _you_ said, and a horrible car accident. But I promise you I am truly sorry for what happened to Liv. She forgave me for that and if she did, then why can't you?"

"She would never-"

"She did," Minerva sighed, "The Doctor was with her during her last moments and she told him she forgave me. So if she did, why can't you do that? After everything that's happened, I still have affection for you. You took me to your home, you gave me everything I needed...if you truly hated me then you would've left me in the streets-"

"Minerva, please do not waste your time and just go," Sophia gestured to her closed door.

"But-"

"I have no utter interest in your silly wedding and would much rather stay with all these papers," Sophia sat down on her chair.

"But mom..." Minerva whispered, "...even dad's coming...he's gonna walk me down the aisle."

Sophia rolled her eyes, "Please do refrain yourself from speaking to me about that man. I suppose you haven't heard: we're divorcing."

"Divorcing?" Minerva blinked, shocked to hear that.

She'd only had a couple of minutes with her father today so perhaps he hadn't had the time to mention it to her. But...divorce...that-that was something she actually wasn't expecting. She knew her human parent's relationship wasn't the best lately but she never actually considered the idea of them divorcing.

"Oh yes, Nicolas filed for divorce a couple days ago," Sophia put her hands together on her desk, acting as if the topic was casual, "It should be a rather nice time. Congratulations, Minerva, you have officially destroyed my family."

"You're blaming _me_? Again?" Minerva put a hand over her chest, "But...how is that my fault? You're the one with the icky attitude. You destroyed your own marriage!"

"We were fine until I took you home," Sophia snapped, "And by the way, you don't think I ever tried taking you back? Of course I considered it! But by that time it was too dangerous, you would've been linked back to us and then put _all_ of us in danger. Now please, do yourself a favor and get out."

"I'm not giving up on you," Minerva declared in a shaky voice.

Sophia scoffed, "That's nice, now please go. I have too much work to waste it on you."

Minerva sighed, ignoring her last words as she walked back to the door, "I'm not giving up," she repeated, "It'll take something powerful for me to just leave you, you'll see," with that she walked out and left the door opened.

Sophia watched her walk out then ran her hands through her hair, "My god that woman gets everything...and I'm left with nothing," she glanced at her picture frame on her desk of her and Olivia when she'd been a toddler, "She took you from me," Sophia picked up the frame, "That awful woman took you from me..."

Suddenly, the door to her office slammed shut. Sophia flinched and looked up. She shook her head and set the picture frame back on the desk and returned to work, quietly wiping a tear from her face.

~ 0 ~

"Alright, I got the masks," Donna Noble entered a small room where the Doctor, Mickey, Jack, Aaron, Cody & Nicolas were. She held several face masks in her hand as she walked over to a small table with a mirror. As she set them down, she heard the men grumbling behind her. She raised an eyebrow but kept her back to them, "That better _not_ have been any complaints..."

"No, of course not!" Mickey immediately shook his head as the ginger turned around.

"I didn't even say anything," the Doctor raised his hands in surrender.

Donna looked at all of them with a suspicious look, "Good. Because I have enough on my plate to carry another weight of complaining grown men! So I'll say it again: there better not be any complains from _any_ of you," she pointed to each and every one of them.

There was utter silence as all the men nodded their heads.

"God help the man you marry," Jack coughed.

" _What_ was that?" Donna demanded, hands on her hips.

"Nothing," Jack turned away.

"Donna, you seem a bit stressed..." Cody remarked, eyeing the ginger woman.

"Yes, I am," she nodded and walked for a small wine set behind them, "Scuse me, scuse me," she pushed them aside and quickly started pouring herself a drink, "Planning a wedding in four days is quite possibly mission impossible," she turned around with a proud grin, "And yet, we've done it. Ha!" she gulped the whole drink down.

"Congratulations," Nicolas honestly said.

"Thank you," Donna did a mock-bow.

"Can I see Minerva now?" the Doctor jumped out of his chair, uncaring of congratulations unless it was for him and his Clever Girl.

"Don't you even dare, spaceman!" she pointed at him as she set her empty glass down.

"But it's been _hours_ ," he threw his head back in frustration.

"Do you even know how much hair that woman has!?" Donna shook her head, "I thought straight hair was a monster but this regeneration took that into a whole new level. Curls! Why!?"

Suddenly, all the Doctor's frustration was gone, "How does she look?" he whispered with a small smile.

Donna poured herself another drink as she smiled, "Gorgeous!" she turned and handed him the newly filled glass, "She's a bloody princess for a reason. But _you_ can't see her, so don't even try anything!"

"We'll make sure he doesn't," Mickey assured.

"I'm serious, I'm holding all of you responsible," Donna warned, "Not even a _peek_ , understood?"

"Understood," came all the nods of the men...except the Doctor.

Donna turned to the Doctor with an expectant look, "Spaceman, are we clear?" the man innocently looked to the side, "Haven't you heard the superstition, though!?"

"I'm not human!" he blurted, "And neither is she! So c'mon, I just want to see her for five minutes..." he rethought the time, "...maybe an hour...or maybe forever."

"No!" Donna half-shouted, "You're on Earth and therefore you'll follow the Earthly customs," she looked over to the men, "Take care of him, please."

"Don't worry, Donna," Jack moved over to the Doctor's side, "We'll tie him up if we have to."

"I'm holding you to that," she warned, "And those are your masks, so please wear them."

"Yes, ma'am," they all agreed.

She looked over at the Doctor with a genuine, small smile, "I think you'll find your wait to be very worthwhile," she patted his shoulders and walked out the door.

The Doctor looked between the shut door and the men for a couple seconds...and then he bolted.

"Get him!" Jack pointed and everyone ran after the Time Lord.

~ 0 ~

"There's my beautiful granddaughter," Isadora entered Minerva's dressing room with a small box in her hands.

Minerva was standing in the center of the room with Martha and Stacey pinning on her veil. She was dressed in her wedding dress, make up and hair done and simply missing her bouquet and mask which Donna was currently on the job of getting.

"I look okay, then?" Minerva nervously asked, fidgeting in her dress.

"Minerva, please don't move," Martha pleaded and forcefully made the brunette stand still.

Isadora chuckled as she neared them, "Nervous getting to you?" she looked at Minerva.

The brunette nodded fast, making Martha and Stacey groan in frustration. Zohar came up from behind and held Minerva's head still.

"Thank you," Martha and Stacey said.

"Sorry," Minerva sheepishly said to the pair behind her.

Isadora chuckled again, "Alright, I'll try not to make her move that much. I just came by to give you this," she opened up the box in her hand.

Inside was a baby blue painted-leaves rhinestone hair comb. It consisted of rhinestone baby blue flowers with smaller leaves sprouting delicately from its roots.

"Oh that is beautiful," Stacey blinked at the sight. Zohar and Martha agreed with a nod.

"I thought Minerva could use it today," Isadora explained as she took the comb out from the box, "Sophia wore it on her wedding day, I wore it, my mother, her mother..."

"Oh, but...that's-that's not right," Minerva sighed, "I'm not technically related-"

"You are a Lozano," Isadora pointed, almost warning her, "A Souza-Lozano. I don't care where you're from, a queen of gaddabee like that nice blonde woman told me earlier."

Minerva chuckled, "Oh, Astrid."

"You're my granddaughter just like Olivia was. So, it's only right you wear this today and continue the tradition," Isadora moved to the side and started putting in the comb.

"I just feel wrong taking it. _Liv_ should have had this comb," Minerva sighed, "Not me."

"God knows why he does things. Only he knows why Olivia had to pass before any of us," Isadora reminded, "But she's at peace and so should you. You'll continue the tradition and who knows, one day you'll continue the tradition with your own daughter."

"Now that she actually _can_ , ha!" Martha nudged Minerva who simply blushed, "I can see it already, little Elizabeth running around the TARDIS."

"Martha, please don't start," Minerva mumbled.

"She'll be calling you _mum_ ," Martha then paused and got to thinking, "Or maybe 'mom' cos she might turn out to be American...oh!" she clapped her hands, "But she'll definitely have long brown hair like you and be fast-talker like the Doctor and-"

"Martha likes Mickey," Minerva coughed and the whole room went quiet. Martha stared at Minerva with a half-open mouth in silence, her face warming up as the rest looked at her. Minerva just smirked and sighed in content, suddenly not so nervous, "So, how's it going out there?" she looked at her grandmother.

"Everything is just fine," Isadora finished up the comb and stepped back in front of Minerva, "Donna has made complete sure of that."

"Thank God for Donna Noble," Minerva breathed, "Plan a wedding in four days could only be done by her."

"But she's still pretty peeved it's going to be in the night," Zohar remarked, "Why is that again?"

Minerva just smiled, "Cos it's special to the Doctor and I."

"And the masks?"

"Metaphor."

"Lanterns?"

"Special."

"Well," Donna opened the door and strolled inside, holding more masks in her hand while another the bouquet, "Everyone is all ready and I've got the final details," she waved the masks and bouquet.

Minerva brightly smiled, "It's almost time..." she whispered in anxious anticipation.

~ 0 ~

"Is this really necessary?" the Doctor grumbled as he felt the rope around him tighten up. He currently sat on his chair again... _tied up_...something Jack had quite nicely done.

"We're all sort of afraid of Donna, so yes, this is quite necessary," Aaron nodded.

"Plus, I sort of promised her I'd tie you up if it was necessary," Jack added, finishing up the knot behind.

"And I think we're all kind of of Donna," Cody threw in the truth that made all the others nod.

"I was only kidding about seeing Minerva..." the Doctor said, looking down as he mumbled, "...not really..."

"You were only five feet from Minerva's door," Mickey reminded.

"I wasn't actually going to go see her," the Doctor tried, his gaze still down.

"You were about to shout her name," Nicolas said.

"Face it Doc, you have no self-control right now," Jack patted the Doctor's shoulder, "So you'll just be staying like this for a couple more minutes, alright?"

"Which reminds me, _I_ get to go see Minerva right now," Nicolas declared.

"Rub it in," the Doctor muttered.

"Sorry, but someone's got to walk her down the aisle, remember?"

"Oh, I'll have a peek too," Aaron smirked, "Until later, Doctor."

"This isn't funny!" the Doctor called as the two men started heading out, struggling to get free, "Someone untie me right now!"

"Are you going to run back to Minerva?" Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"...no."

"I think we should get more rope," Cody offered and received the nods of agreements of the others. With a mock-salute to the Doctor, and a smirk, he headed for the doors.

"For the best liar, you really can't lie about Minerva, huh?" Jack teased the Doctor.

"Shut up and untie me."

"Restrain, Doctor. Restrain," Jack reminded, "Just a few more minutes and then you'll have the wife forever...starting with _tonight_ ," he smirked.

Both Mickey and the Doctor gave the immortal man a sharp look, "You've been waiting to crack up those lines all day, haven't you?" Mickey asked, crossing his arms.

"It's my job to tease," Jack shrugged, "Plus, I've had to suck it all in with the father and uncle around."

"Yeah, well, knock it off," the Doctor warned, "And would you please untie me? Minerva won't be too pleased to find my suit with rope stains."

"Alright, but don't run anymore," Jack said before going behind the chair, "Mickey, stay in front in case he tries anything."

"Don't think we won't tie you again," Mickey pointed.

The Doctor remained silent as the ropes were taken off him. As soon as he stood up, however, there was a flash of light in front of them. The trio shielded their eyes for a minute until the light faded.

"Mayar? What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked once the view was visible.

He knew Minerva would go and invite the man to the wedding, but he also knew Mayar would decline and not show up. To have him here was just, well...confusing.

"I am here to warn you, Doctor," Mayar remained in his place, his expression hard as he stared ahead.

"Warn me of what?"

" _You_ are not the man for my granddaughter and this wedding will have no meaning on the Monsoon."

"Here's the thing, I don't care what you think," the Doctor shrugged, "Cos this is what Minerva wants, and what Minerva wants I give and do. We're getting married, can't you be happy for her?"

"Oh she'll be getting married," Mayar nodded in agreement, a small smile spreading on his face as he looked to the side, "But with someone who truly deserves her and is up to her level. I have just the man in mind for her."

"Why are you telling us this?" Mickey raised an eyebrow.

"Because I wanted the Doctor to know this. This silly wedding will not last. I will see to it that Kaeya realizes the biggest mistake she is committing. And when she does, I will welcome her on the Monsoon with open arms. She'll take her rightful place on the throne with a man of her status."

"You know it truly saddens me that you just can't be happy for her," the Doctor sighed, "We both love her, whether you want to admit it or not. We both want her to take her rightful place, but unlike you I want to see her actually being happy. I'd let her be whatever she wanted, I'd let her go if she wanted. But the reality is, she doesn't. She loves me and I love her, and she wants to marry me. I know it would mean a lot to Minerva if you stayed tonight, so please stay. I have no trouble with that. I just want her to be happy and what makes her happy is having all her family and friends with us tonight."

"I don't believe you," Mayar shook his head, "I don't know how you have Kaeya wrapped around your little finger but you don't fool me. I will see to it that she realizes her mistake and leaves you to come home with her own people and become a proper queen."

With that, Mayar activated the manipulator and flashed out.

"Well that's a nice man," Jack concluded and turned to the Doctor, "Don't listen to him, Doc. It's pretty clear what Minerva wants and it's not to marry some kind of prince."

"I feel bad for her, though," the Doctor sighed, "I know how important it was for her to have Mayar here tonight. But he doesn't even think about what she wants, her happiness. He's so poisoned with the old thoughts of the Moontsays that he thinks I just want the power Minerva's acquiring."

"Well we can't stay here and get all sad," Mickey clapped his hands, "Cos it's time to get out there and marry."

"You're right," the Doctor nodded, beaming when he made a realization, "I get to see Minerva now! Let's go!" he ordered and rushed out.

"No self control whatsoever," Jack declared with a sigh.

"None," Mickey agreed and the two grabbed the remaining masks and walked out.

~ 0 ~

A lovely little London park was the choice of place where the wedding was to take place. The sun had just set which allowed the strings of lanterns that surrounded the park to be lighted up. It was a small gathering of guests, mainly the usual companions and Minerva's human family. The small group of guests were promptly sat on the chairs awaiting for the ceremony to begin. The bridesmaids, including the maid of honor, Martha Jones, were promptly awaiting on the bride's side of the altar, while the groomsmen stood on the groom's side, the 'best man' title being handed down to Mickey Smith.

Secretly, the Doctor and Minerva had planned that to come exactly this way. They were both aware of the little crushes going on between Minerva's best friends and so, after so much teasing from Martha, they decided to get back at her and join her up with Mickey. Their last secret as fiancee's, they liked to think.

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" little Tamara Donovan cheered as she rushed up to the starting point of the aisle, making the rest of the guests, except her mother, laugh. Once Tamara saw the scolding look her mother was giving her she quickly straightened up and cleared her throat in the best manner a five year old could give, "I meant...the _bride_ is here," she announced in a proper tone.

"Can you please tell her to hurry?" the Doctor called in a pleading tone from his place at the altar.

"Self control," Mickey whispered behind him.

"That goes to hell the minute I see her," he muttered.

The soft, traditional music began playing and down walked the adorable, little flower girl wearing her own masquerade mask, throwing her flower petals as she came. She giggled excessively as she looked around, loving the job she had been tasked with. Behind her came Donna and Stacey, the maid of honor already waiting at the altar, also wearing masquerade masks to match with their blue dresses. If it was up to the Doctor, however rude it may have sounded, he would've just pushed through all them to get to his beautiful bride...

...and boy was she beautiful.

"Self control, Doctor," Mickey reminded once more at the sight of Minerva.

Minerva walked down the aisle with her arm linked around her father's, smiling brightly as ever. She wore a beautiful, white wedding gown with a small tail behind her. The dress was in an off-the-shoulder style, a sweetheart neckline with glittering Swarovsky crystals and pearls encrusting the neckline and strings down in the skirt. There were embroidered metallic lace of a darker shade of white over the decadent bodice; lace appliqued the tulle skirt down to the tail. Minerva's hair had a Heidi-braid at the top of her head with her soft curls cascading to its natural length to her mid-back. Her veil was pinned up behind her braid and was currently behind her back due to her white masquerade mask that was on her face. She carried her flower bouquet of lavender crocuses, the flowers of happiness as the Doctor once told her.

Both Minerva and Nicolas reached up to the altar with calmness, which was really more on Nicolas's part. If it was up to Minerva she would've ran down the aisle just to reach her Martian.

"I don't really think I need to ask for you to make her happy," Nicolas concluded as he glanced between the couple.

"Not one bit," the Doctor replied, currently staring at Minerva with dazed look, "It's number one on my to-do list..."

"Then I guess there's really not much to say here," Nicolas looked over at Minerva with a sad smile, "I know I'm not the best father, and not even your _real_ father, but I know I want what he'd want, which is for you to be happy. So, you go on and marry this man, and be happy."

"Thank you, dad," Minerva half-smiled. He kissed her forehead then walked back to his seat.

"Goddess," the Doctor breathed as he took her over again.

Minerva thanked the mask over her eyes and part of her cheeks because it covered her blush, "You wanna see something cool?" he gave her an odd look as she slightly lifted her right foot to reveal a crystal shoe underneath her dress, "I'm pulling a Cinderella."

The Doctor just smiled at her, "I'm more of a Rapunzel kinda guy..."

"So am I," she whispered.

"Welcome, family, friends and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Minerva and John," the officiant began, trying to keep his odd look away as best as possible.

He'd never seen such a ceremony before, everyone wore masquerade masks! The bride, apparently, wore _crystal_ shoes! Not to mention how they'd magically gotten an officiant, himself, on orders of the highest authority in London, the _Queen_. But, as it looked, the couple did seem to have those stares of pure love which was enough for him to conduct the ceremony.

"You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Minerva and John to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them. To all your guests, they are happy to share this moment with you two," he eyed the couple just to make sure they were listening as it seemed like their gazes would wander back to each other, "They have known most of you for several years. You watched them grow up, you went to school with them, or you worked with them. Because you are the ones who have supported them and known them so well, it is only fitting that you are the ones to share this once-in-a-lifetime moment with them. Also, a wedding day is often a day when couples miss family members no longer with them. For the bride and groom, there are family members whose memories they hold dear. Would either of you care to share some of those members?"

"My birth parents and maternal grandmother," Minerva said with a half-smile, "From my adopted family, my older sister and my grandfather."

"My...entire family," the Doctor smiled at Minerva, the pain of losing everything suddenly not so painful as he took in who he was about to marry. _She_ would be her family from now on, and the rest of their friends. And what a family it would be.

"May the memories of your loved ones brighten this day and warm your hearts," the officiant said, both nodding in thanks, "Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships."

"Well not just for humans," Minerva cut in, calmly taking the officiant's confused face, "For anyone of any kind...isn't that right, John?" she looked at the Doctor with a knowing smile.

"Oh yes," he nodded in agreement, "Any kind of people..."

"Right..." the officiant looked from one another for a second before he continued, "No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as life-mates and partners. Now, I need to take your declaration of intent. Will you, John, take this woman to be your wedded wife?"

"I will," the Doctor nodded.

"Will you, Minerva, take this man to be your wedded husband?"

"Oh, I will," she breathed.

"Who would like to read their wedding vows first?" the officiant asked.

"Oh we didn't need to write them down," Minerva waved him, "It's all up here, isn't it?" she looked at the Doctor while pointing to her head.

"Yes it is," he nodded.

"You go first, dear," she offered, "Just this once, gentlemen go first."

"Ever so kind of you," he remarked, taking a small breath before he spoke his next words, "Our story hasn't been quite the simplest to live or tell, but its ending made the journey worthwhile. We come from, quite literally, different worlds that have no like for each other. And yet, we did not follow those silly likes. Like a Star-crossed story, we met and fell in love at such a young age. We became the best of friends that slowly and beautifully fell in love with each other. I realized how kind and genuine you were; you were like no woman I ever met. No one could capture my feeling into actual words. I was probably, and still am, the most annoying, but brilliant," he had to add which made her chuckle, "Rambling man you probably have ever seen and yet you still loved me. That...that's an accomplishment, honestly. I drive everyone else mad and yet you laugh at me because you think it's lovable when it's really not. I discovered in you what it really meant to have a motive in life, to have that one person you can call your soul mate with confidence. And yet, after all those discoveries, I never dared to tell you how I felt exactly. I was young and scared...I hid those feelings for you under a veil, under a mask for centuries. But today, today I take off this veil, this mask," he started removing his masquerade mask and allowed Minerva to see just how nervous he actually was, "I want you to know that I love you, I love you with every core of my being and nothing will ever stop it. You are a sassy, clever girl that I want to marry today and always have at my side."

Minerva bit her lip and felt like she could just melt in his arms after hearing all that. She took a deep breath before she began her vows, "Our story was and is most definitely a Star-crossed fantasy. It's probably not the ideal story every girl dreams but it's _my_ story and I wouldn't give it up for anything. When I met you for the first time, face to face, I knew that you were the one I was going to fall in love with...I just didn't think it'd be so quick, or that _you_ would actually love me back! To me you were the most brilliant, adventurous man I had ever met. You became my best friend, my confidant of my dreams...and my endless supporter. You understood me better than anyone else, you were there despite being worlds apart whenever I needed you. All those gifts you used to give me I kept because they were objects you looked upon at thought of _me_. And each time you came to visit me, you made me fall more in love with you...but just like you, I never said. I couldn't gather up my courage to tell you that I loved you and wanted to have you at my side. I wore the same veil, the same mask, to cover up my feelings because I was scared..." she swallowed, "...but today, all that ends. I get to take off this veil and this mask," she began removing her mask from her face, "And show you my true feelings, forever and always. I love you, silly Martian. You're my Martian, my insanely brilliant, ridiculous banana-loving alien...and there is no one I'd ever want to be with than you."

"Please remain facing each other," the officiant instructed, now really struggling to keep his questionable face away after hearing such odd metaphors, "I ask you to repeat after me, Minerva," the brunette nodded, ""I, Minerva, take you, John, to be my husband, my constant friend and partner, and my love. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you, and to accept challenges from you. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives and I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives."

Minerva nodded, thanking for her now far advanced mind that was able to retain all those words in memory, "I," she stepped forwards and leaned up to the Doctor's ear to whisper, "Kaeya" she stepped back with a smirk, "Take you, my Martian, to be my husband, my constant friend and partner, and my love. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you, and to accept challenges from you. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives and I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives."

The officiant raised an eyebrow, confused, "That's-that's not what I..." Minerva gave him a sharp look that no man would want to mess with, "Right, John, how about you?" he quickly moved on.

The Doctor bit back a chuckle, this woman was exactly who he wanted to marry, and _now_. He nodded and began his turn, "I," he stepped forwards and whispered to Minerva, "Theta," he stepped back and saw her soft smile that made his hearts nearly burst. That was the first time she had ever heard his true name, "Take you, my Clever Girl, to be my wife, my constant friend and partner, and my love. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you, and to accept challenges from you. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives and I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives."

"That's _still_ not what I said," the officiant mumbled before he moved on, "And may we have the rings, please?" Mickey stepped up with the rings and set them on the table in front of the pair, "I ask the groom to place the ring on the bride's finger and repeat after me…. I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, My love is also forever."

The Doctor picked up Minerva's ring and said his words, "I give you this ring. Wear it with love and joy. As this ring has no end, My love is also forever," he carefully slid the blue & silver ring on her finger.

"Now I ask the bride, place the ring on the groom's finger and repeat after me…. With this ring, I marry you. Wear this ring forever As a sign of my love."

Minerva picked up the Doctor's ring and repeated the words, "With this ring, I marry you. Wear this ring forever As a sign of my love," she slid the ring down his finger.

"May the wedding rings you exchanged today remind you always that you are surrounded by enduring love. While this wedding is a celebration of love and commitment, it is also a legal ceremony. I ask the Maid of Honor and Best Man to join me and the bride and groom at the table," both Mickey and Martha stepped up again, "The signing of a marriage certificate is not just a legal requirement. It is in fact an ancient custom that represents the concept that not only must marriage be entered into consensually by both parties, but that it is also a social contract between a couple and their community…for the good of all. Signing the marriage documents is also a self-defining moment for the groom and bride…perhaps one of the most impactful and consequential moments of their lives. So I ask them to sign the documents before them," Mickey moved to sign first then handed Martha the pen, with a little sheepish smile that made the Doctor and Minerva smirk behind.

After a couple minutes later, Mickey and Martha returned to their places while the officiant checked over the papers. The officiant looked up with a smile, "It is my honor and delight to declare you husband and wife. You may seal this declaration with a kiss."

"1969 I gave you a necklace," the Doctor whispered to Minerva as they stepped closer, "Right on this park, near that lake," he looked past her to the lake that was once frozen 41 years ago."

"And what do you give me today?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Our first kiss as husband and wife..."

"I like," she declared.

Both leaned over to form their first kiss as husband and wife, forgetting the rest of the people around them as they deepened their kiss. Though they had to break apart when a silver glow started taking over Minerva. Everyone stared with wide eyes, the officier with horrified eyes, to see the bride releasing silver light.

"It's alright!" Zohar gave the call that made the Doctor and Minerva look to her, "It's alright," Zohar assured with her hands in front of her, a soft smile spreading across her face, "It's the Moontsay Linkage. It's been activated."

Minerva looked at her hands that bathed in silver before feeling fingers under her chin. The Doctor made her look up and see him smiling. He didn't even care that the silver glow had started moving onto him. It settled in him then quickly faded, Minerva's just a tad slower.

They simply returned to their kiss, their second married kiss.

~ 0 ~

Minerva watched with a sad smile her family and friends gathered around tables in the park, ignoring the chilly air that had been set loose. There was her grandmother, her father, her uncle and Ms. Donovan at one table. In another was Donna, her mother and granddad and Stacey. In the other table was Martha, Astrid, Zohar, Cody Mickey and was lovely...and yet...

"Okay, you are not allowed to have that face after just being married," the Doctor took a seat beside her, setting down their glasses on the table.

"What face?" she looked at him.

"The sad one! It's not allowed!"

She half-smiled and looked out again, "I'm sorry, it's just...I thought my grandfather would come, despite our argument I thought he'd come and at least watch...and he didn't come."

The Doctor had decided to keep quiet on the little visit Mayar had made to him before the ceremony. He figured it was better for Minerva to think he didn't make an appearance than to know he did come but had made awful warnings and statements. It was their wedding day, she deserved to be happy. And it was his job to make sure that always was the case.

"But you can't be sad over one person, look at all those that did come," he gestured to their family and friends, "Your best friends are here, your ginger sister's here, your grandmother, father...etc. All these people love you and came to share this moment with you."

Minerva looked at him with a small smile and took his hand, "They're your family too, you know. My adopted family is now _your_ family too."

"And I am very glad they came, so you should be too," he nodded. She looked at him for a minute more then laughed, confusing him, "What?"

She waved him off as she finished, "It's just, I find your ability to get me all better a true gift. You do it so easily and with no trouble."

"Well I had to get the gift to be able to have you," he shrugged, "And I have you now, Mrs. Smith."

She made a face through her smile and kissed their interlocked hands, "About that...I don't really plan on using that name."

"What?" he frowned, even more confused.

"Doctor, c'mon, Minerva _Smith_? " she crinkled her face at it and shook her name, "It doesn't really fit. I think I'll be keeping Minerva _Souza_."

"But...but that's not the way it goes!"

"Yes it is," and with the face Minerva had, the Doctor had no choice but to agree.

"Yes it is," he sighed.

She chuckled, "There we go. Besides, I finally snagged the title of the Doctor's wife, ha!" she bit her lip and smirked, "And just to tell you, on the Monsoon, there are _no_ divorces...so you're stuck with me now, forever."

"Oh what ever shall I do?" he smirked back and leaned to kiss her.

"How about we leave the eating of each other's faces for later, huh?" Martha called as she and Mickey came over.

"Go away dear Martha," Minerva absently said as she just stared at the Doctor, "Like now."

"Something tells me we'll be hearing of a little Elizabeth very soon..."

"What?" the Doctor looked at her with confusion, missing the comical expression Minerva had put on after Martha's words.

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked Martha, also quite confused. Martha smirked and leaned to his ear am whispered the explanation, "OH! You're good!" he praised her and laughed.

"Well can I get the explanation?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

Minerva quickly turned his head with her hands and brightly smiled, "It's nothing, it's really just-I'M GONNA KILL YOU," she glared at Martha.

Martha laughed at the threat, "Yeah, yeah, Donna will kill you if you get blood stains on your dress."

"Minerva, what's going on?" the Doctor asked her, feeling left out being the only one that didn't understand the joke.

"It's nothing," Minerva assured, "Hey why don't we go dance!?"

"But-"

"Dance!" Minerva declared and stood up, pulling the Doctor up as well. She cast a sharp look at her best friends, "Can we get some music please?"

"Minerva, I'd really like to know-"

Minerva put her hand over the Doctor's mouth and stared down Mickey and Martha, "Music... _now_."

"And we're on it," Mickey quickly nodded and turned to leave, but not before he whispered to the Doctor, "Good luck, mate," and rushed off with Martha.

"Alright, Clever Girl, what's going-"

But Minerva brought him to her lips for a nice kiss, one that she made sure would leave him hazed enough for a distraction. She was more than glad to see the results after pulling away, "Would you dance with me, husband dear?"

Just as she'd planned, the Doctor had let everything go and nodded, "I would love to, dear wife."

And so the pair walked to the center of the small party and got into position for their first dance as a married couple. Once the music began to play, they started to sway to the slow song. They lasted for about five minutes dancing quietly, just basking in their moment...and then...

"Minerva..." the Doctor said, calm and normal level voice.

"Yes?"

"Who's Elizabeth?"

"Dammit," he heard the small whisper.

"What's going on, Clever Girl?" he chuckled.

"Oh alright," she sighed and looked up, "Martha started this little joke back in 1969..."

"About an Elizabeth?"

"Sort of. See, remember how I called her Martha Elizabeth Jones?" he nodded and noticed how she suddenly started to blush, "Well, she sort of came up with the idea that we'd have a little girl, a _daughter_ , named Elizabeth."

"Oh..." the Doctor blinked, feeling his own blush begin to form on his neck and cheeks.

That Martha sure had a way of teasing them and getting them all red. But this certain topic actually made Minerva feel a little uncomfortable.

"Well, I mean...it's...it's not impossible anymore..." the Doctor struggled to find some words to say. That hadn't been a topic they actually thought about since Minerva's regeneration.

"Right," Minerva mumbled.

"I mean, if we wanted to...we could...but, um...maybe not right now..."

"Yeah," Minerva looked up at him with a bit of relief, "Cos, cos it's too early for any of that. I'm not, I don't think of myself as capable to be a mother. I mean if we're being honest, the thought if it terrifies me. What with the mothers I had, one is dead and the other is complicated so I don't really feel capable and-"

"Hey, hey, hey," the Doctor put his hands on Minerva's face, forcing her to stop, "You don't need get so worried about this. It's far too early for that. Let's just ignore Martha, yeah?"

"Yeah," she whispered.

"This is our wedding day and the only thing we should be thinking about is where we'll travel to after this?"

"You mean for our honeymoon?"

"Yes, I was thinking that intergalactic beach on Florida? Oh, or how about the 50's? Or the 20's? I wouldn't mind seeing you in one of those little flapper dresses..." the Doctor rested his temple against hers.

"Oh you cheeky man," Minerva blushed, "I married a cheeky husband, oh no..."

"But you married a cheeky man that absolutely loves you," he kissed her temple.

"That I did," she agreed. Suddenly, she was dipped down, squealing and laughing.

"Can't have a dance without our traditional dip, right?" the Doctor asked, smirking.

"No, I guess not..."

" And certainly, not with out the traditional ending," slowly, he brought her back up and straight to his lips.

~ 0 ~

"Are you ready?" Minerva called to the group of women that awaited her to throw her flower bouquet. She was standing on a chair holding her bouquet while the Doctor held her legs in case she fell.

"Yes!" Donna shouted, "Stop teasing us and throw it, clever sister!"

Minerva beamed, "1...2..3! Go!" she threw her bouquet over her head and immediately heard the squeals of the women trying to catch it.

"Alright, come down, my Clever Girl," the Doctor picked her off the chair and set her down to her feet, the front of her dress ridding and being bunched up between them.

"Oh my god!" they heard a voice from the women.

"Oh of course!" Donna exclaimed.

Minerva fixed the front of her dress and looked back at the same time the Doctor did to see Martha holding the flower bouquet.

"Oh I am _so_ not gonna let this go," Minerva declared with a huge smirk, "Revenge is too sweet right now."

"Now, now, let's not be the teaser this time..." the Doctor warned, his small smirk appearing on his face as well, "...with out _me_."

Minerva looked at him with pure joy, "I am so glad I married you."

"Perfect team, right?".

"Partners in Crime," she took his hand and nodded to Martha.

They shared a smirk and a nod before heading over to poor Martha, "Oh Maaartha!" they called together.

~ 0 ~

"They're going to be pretty peeved at us for running off on them," Minerva laughed as she and the Doctor neared the TARDIS.

She was currently in the Doctor's arms, bridal style of course, and was often casting glances behind them to see if any of their guests had followed them. The pair had assured the guests that they would stay and cut their cake...and then took off the moment they had the opportunity. The TARDIS was set in the same park but nearly across the place and was silently waiting for its inhabitants to return.

"What? They're going to be mad at some newlyweds for wanting to start on their forever?" the Doctor gave Minerva a sharp look, "Because that would be really awful of them."

"Oh I suggest we just get inside that box of wonders before my ginger sister comes running after us," she pointed at the box in front of them.

"With pleasure," somehow, the Doctor managed to snap his fingers and open the box on command. He gave Minerva a smirk afterwards, "Told you that would come in handy."

"Alright, you were right," she conceded and looked up to her Martian only to be greeted with a soft kiss.

"Let's go home, my wife?"

She smiled and nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Yes," she rested her head on his shoulder and watched him walked into the TARDIS.

"We're back!" the Doctor called to the old girl, the doors shutting behind them, "And just a note, you'll be the home to a _wedded_ couple now."

Minerva chuckled as the humming started up, "I take it I'm welcomed?"

The Doctor walked up to the console, "Do you welcome Minerva as your second pilot?"

"What!?" Minerva looked at him with wide eyes, "No, no, no, I can't do that!"

"You can learn," was the Doctor's reply as he kissed her head, "I'm sure she'll be glad to let you learn."

Minerva looked at the rotor that was going up and down with what she assumed was a good welcome. She unwrapped one of her arms from the Doctor's and reached to touch the rotor, "Thank you, box of wonders. I promise to make your first pilot very happy...and force him to throw away that hammer."

After that, there was a crazy set of hums that made Minerva laugh.

"She's so happy about that last one," she said to him.

"Don't gang up on me though," he mumbled.

"I make no promises on that..."

He grumbled as he set on her the chairs and moved back to the console to get them started, "Well, then I guess I'll have to defend myself in any way I can."

"Yeah, good luck with that," she rested an elbow on the armrest and her cheek on her hand, softly smiling as she stared at him, "I'll use my ways to stop your defenses."

"Why do I feel like I just entered a never ending cycle of losing?" he turned and walked up in front of her.

"Because you just married the woman who only needs to use a sweet smile in order to get anything she wants," she tapped his nose.

"Yeah, well...I have my own ways to get what I want from you," he leaned forwards and wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly sliding her up to him.

"And how does that seem to go for you?" she raised an eyebrow.

"A little like this..." he lifted her up to his lips, struggling to carry her off the chair with her dress's skirt.

Minerva giggled as she parted, "How about we go to bed? Believe it or not, I'm actually tired."

"What ever my wife wants, she gets," he declared and pecked her lips. He scooped her in his arms again and headed inside the corridors.

"Well actually, there _is_ something I do want right now..." she declared sheepishly, "...do you think I can finally see your room?"

"My room?" he blinked, confused of the request. He actually hadn't been inside his room for months. Ever since he began sleeping inside Minerva's room he didn't find the need for his room anymore.

"I know it's strange but I've actually never seen it. Even in my past incarnations I've only ever been inside the console room for my first and then every room minus yours for my second incarnation. I'm just curious..." she bit her lip.

"And I love your curiosity," he kissed her forehead.

"I get to see the Oncoming Storm's room?" she started smiling.

"Isn't that where we're going?" he nodded for her to look ahead.

She beamed in excitement and when they stopped in front of the Doctor's door she literally jumped out of his arms and walked right inside, "This is where you used to sleep in? Well, on those nights you chose to anyways," she looked at a desk against the wall that consisted of far too many papers scrambled about on top, "And then when you didn't you decided to be messy with papers..."

"I had ideas," the Doctor murmured behind her, feeling a bit ashamed she was seeing his mess.

"Oh dear, of contraptions that go 'ding' when there's stuff?" she rushed to a shelf across the desk to see different sort of objects sitting in place, "Are these your own souvenirs from your adventures?"

"Yes," he went after her, "Although now that I look at it, it's missing one last souvenir."

She turned around and moved around to plop down on the foot of his bed, testing how comfortable it was, "Like what?" she asked absently as she garnered her results.

"My own Moontsay," he shot a grin.

She stopped moving around and looked at him, "Oh really?"

He nodded and moved after her again, taking her hands and gently pulling her up, "Mhm, I nabbed myself the bloody princess, future queen," he raised his eyebrows and flashed another grin.

"How lucky of you," she mumbled before kissing him.

She could feel his desire for her getting difficult to keep 'hidden' as he often thought he successfully did. That poor Martian really had no restrains when it came to her, and it made her feel powerful in a sense, to know that _she_ was the only person he wanted. It was exactly how she felt about him, making him just as powerful when it came to her.

"Mm, wait," she suddenly pulled away, biting her lip as she considered what to do next.

The Doctor, on the other hand, simply smiled after she pulled away, his finger stroking her face, "It's alright, dear."

"You'd really be alright not having an _actual_ wedding night?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like it won't ever happen again. If all you feel like doing is cuddling tonight then that's exactly what we'll do," he Eskimo kissed her, making her smile.

"I married the right man," she nodded, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"I left my white teddy bear in my room, can you get it for me? I think I want to sleep in here tonight."

"Sure, I'll be right back," he gave her a kiss then tapped her nose, "Don't go anywhere."

She nodded and watched him walk out, taking a content deep breath. She looked around, her hands going up to her veil with a small smirk.

~ 0 ~

"I got it, Minerva," the Doctor walked into his room, "But if I can offer a suggestion..." the suggestion never came as he'd taken observation of his room.

The messiness had vanished and instead was replaced with lit candles everywhere. Currently, Minerva was finishing lighting up the last one when she glanced over, "You like?" she sheepishly asked.

"W-well, well, you..." no coherent words came to the Doctor's mind as he stared at her.

"So I thought more about it, and I came to the conclusion that I _don't_ want to just cuddle tonight," Minerva flashed a smirk as she turned to face him with her hands behind her back.

She had foregone her wedding dress, which now laid as a pile in a corner of the room along with her hair accessories except her veil and shoes. She now wore, instead, an emerald green and pink lingerie short dress. It had a deep v-neckline in the front with straps on her shoulders and a small gemmed belt under the bust.

"Are you..." the Doctor shook his head, greatly struggling to keep himself in line and actually speak real words, "...sure, a-are you sure?"

"Do I _look_ unsure?" she gestured to herself with a chuckle, "I even got the TARDIS to send you around a couple times in the hallway so I could do this," she gestured to the neat room.

"Well..." he tilted his head and trailed her over for the fifth time or so, "...n-n-not really..."

"It's amazing what this wardrobe has you know," she held her arms out for him and the Martian obediently walked up to her, taking her in his arms, feeling his hearts nearly burst from his chest as he felt the ever-so-thin fabric that separated his fingers from her skin.

"Goddess," he managed to sputter out as her arms went around his neck.

"Martian," she smiled softly, " _Theta_ ," she tested the new name in her mouth as she set her hands on his face, "What a beautiful name that is."

He smiled back, "Kaeya, my beautiful flower."

"Mine wasn't a secret, remember?" she raised an eyebrow, "Who would've known all those centuries ago...we'd be here...married."

"Completely mine."

"Oh," Minerva chuckled, "You're completely _mine_ , all mine," she smirked, "Is this to your liking?"

"I wouldn't be this nervous would I?" he countered, his breath hitching as she swiftly removed his jacket.

" _I_ make you nervous? Excuse you, but _I'm_ the one half-dressed here. How do you think _I_ feel?" she casually asked while her hands went to undo his tie.

"This regeneration made you a bit more flirty, and seductive," he made a face and it was her turn to laugh.

"I'm just coming out of my shell, is that wrong?" she pecked his lips and remained only mere inches from them afterwards, "You're my husband, so...?"

"You're testing me," the Doctor said in an almost warning tone.

"Me?" she played innocent, "What would make you think that...?"

"I've got two words for you, Clever Girl..."

"And those are?" she smirked and leaned closer to an almost non-existent gap.

"Challenge accepted," the Doctor whispered just as his hand trailed up her thigh. When Minerva gasped he chose that moment to kiss her and begin their first passionate night of their forever.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ta-da! I hope you guys liked the wedding and all the content! Some of its content is foreshadowing for the next story if you didn't pick it up ;) But hooray! Clever Girl and the Martian are now married! As it should've been long time ago, don't you think?

Omg! Omg! So I found this post on tumblr that asked " _On a scale from Sokka [from Avatar the Last Airbender] to Tuxedo Mask [Sailor Moon] how well did your relationship with a moon princess girlfriend turn out?"_ I think it's a question that fits the Doctor so perfectly lmao. How do you guys think he did? Cos judging by what's happening up above I don't think he's doing too bad ;)

 **Spoilers:** Hands down to Peter and Jenna for their amazing acting skills. Personally, I don't even like Clara and Jenna had me crying anyways like wtf woman!? They all pulled a reverse-Donna on me and I was bawling like a child :'/

 _For Reviews:_

I loved the proposal! Wish my future husband would do that for me lol. 11/Minerva gives you the progression of them two plus their companions (both previous and current) and it's actually a lot of fun to write. But regeneration? Oh dear, there's a little something something you won't be expecting ;)

Oh no, Minerva's definitely trying to make her place beside the Doctor now. Go Minerva! Hm, well in this case the link isn't actually "arranged marriages". The link, as you saw above, is a gene within the Moontsays that activates when you actually marry - despite what species their partner is. It's meant to protect and keep healthy each partner for the sake of their children. But yeeeah...let's see what Mayar has in mind in the next story :o

So...I have a dilemma with this story. Apparently, I leave the country for the holidays next week and wifi there is not a sure thing. This story is 3 chapters from finishing up (The End of Time being put into 1 big chapter) and I'm kinda iffy on leaving the story without finishing it up since I update once a week. If I continue like that I would only update one more time and be leaving the 2 chapters leftover until early January.

 _ **Question:**_ Do you guys prefer the story being updated 3 times in the next week to finish the story off before the year ends **OR** do you not care and just like the one time update next week then get the last 2 updates until early January?

Please let me know! And thank you! :)


	24. The Honorable Ladies Souzas'

The Doctor stepped out a grocery store holding a rather large chocolate egg in his hands, minty fresh of course, for his...

He scrunched up his face at the water that practically smacked him in the face.

"Sorry!" he heard Minerva's cry right after. He lightly sighed as he patted his face dry with a cloth from his pocket, Minerva quickly reaching him with a severe apologetic face, "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I was just trying to practice again and then...well..." she made a face as she patted his cheeks, "...on the bright side I finally got my 2 seconds to turn into two minutes?" she gave a small, nervous smile.

"Which means I'm proud of you," the Doctor declared and placed a kiss on her lips.

"Yeah? Cause Zohar says I'm behind, Donna's practically mastered the snow by now! She's moving onto the ice!"

"Everyone has their own pace, dear. Plus, _Donna_ isn't also learning how to build up a kingdom, how to form relationships with other planets' leaders and she isn't learning about all of time and space."

"But still, I'm the princess and I still can't hold water for five minutes. And I can't even activate my ice and snow. It's a bit disappointing to my grandfather..."

"To be fair, he's gotten a lot more difficult to impress," the Doctor sighed, "The only thing he's going to be happy about is the day you tell him you've finally left me."

"Never," she declared dead serious, "I told him on the day of our wedding this was final. You and I forever, always together. It'll take him some time but he'll eventually have to accept it, I'm married now."

"And what lovely time it's been," he Eskimo kissed her, making her giggle.

"Oh yes," she linked arms with him and began walking down the London night street with her husband, "Still feels like yesterday we married...actually, it _still_ feels like our wedding night..." she admitted with a blush as she looked to the side.

"What? You're telling me that's not how the first four months as a married couple is supposed to feel?" the Doctor looked at her with a teasing face, though he also sported his own blush.

"Oh shut up," she playfully hit his arm with her free hand, "And eat your chocolate instead."

"What ever you wish, wife," he smirked as he began unwrapping his chocolate.

~ 0 ~

Not too far away from the pair, a woman with long black hair and brown eyes was running down the night streets carrying a backpack. She looked back as a police detective was hot on her tail along with several other policemen. She noticed a bus not too far ahead and quickly ran for it, the detective seeing her and running after her.

She jumoed inside the bus and gave a small smile to thr bus driver, "Hello. I'm so terribly sorry. That card paying device thing, that's a Lobster card, am I right?"

"Oyster card," the driver gave her an odd look.

"Ah, well, that's the problem, you see. I only use my Oyster when there's an R in the month."

"It's April," the driver reminded.

The woman sighed with no patience. She took her earrings off and held them to the driver, "Diamonds. Genuine," she dropped them into his palm, "Drive!"

"Works for me," the driver shrugged.

The woman quickly hurried through the bus and sat down by the window. Before the bus shut its doors a lovely couple entered and the woman swiped a card.

"You're just in time," the driver remarked.

"Thank you!" she called to the driver as they continued through the bus. With the sudden start of the bus, the pair fell to different sides of the bus, "No, thank you!" the woman called as she sat up and saw her husband across her, "You okay?"

The Doctor looked down at the chocolate egg in his hands and grinned, "Yes!" he looked over to the woman that sat beside him, "Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's fine," the woman mumbled, waving him off.

"I'm the Doctor! That's my wife, Minerva! Happy Easter!"

"The chocolate is minty by the way," Minerva added with a grin, "It's really good. Glad you were able to actually land us on Easter," she looked at the Doctor, "Maybe getting rid of that hammer actually improved your piloting."

He mock-glared at the Clever Girl, "I still can't believe you actually did that."

Minerva had actually chucked his hammer out into outerspace! Granted she had warned him of her intention two minutes before she'd actually done it. He thought she'd been kidding...

...she had _not_ been kidding.

"I promised the old girl," Minerva shrugged and looked at the woman beside the Doctor, "I'm sorry. You shouldn't hear a lousy disagreement, it's Easter!"

"Funny thing is, I don't often do Easter," the Doctor admitted then smiled at Minerva, all disagreements forgotten, "Perhaps now that I have a wife with excellent human memories, I'll start having Easter more often," Minerva silently smiled back, "Although I never could find it, it's always at a different time. Although I remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was... "

A beeping sound interrupted him and so he quickly handed the chocolate egg to the woman beside him while he reached into his pocket, "Oh, sorry, hold on to that for us. Actually, go on, have it, finish it."

"Hey!" Minerva frowned upon seeing their chocolate I'm the hands of another woman, "I still wanted it!"

"It's full of sugar," he declared, "You're energetic enough and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he bared his teeth to her.

"Funny, cause you didn't seem to have that problem with me last night," she shot him a smirk when he blushed.

"Anyways..." he quickly looked down as he pulled out the gadget he'd been searching for in his pocket, "Ah! Oh, we've got excitation!" he shook it and garnered an odd look from another passenger behind, "I'm picking up something very strange."

"I know the feeling," the black-haired woman gave him a quick glance, actually hoping he'd go sit with that wife of his and leave her out of whatever that gadget was all about.

"Rhondium particles, that's what we're looking for," the Doctor began to explain to the black-haired woman since Minerva knew all about it. Minerva could see the woman had no interest in the Doctor's words but Minerva kept quiet for the Doctor's sake, and because he looked so adorable rambling on, "This thing detects them," the Doctor was tapping the gadget in his hands, "The little dish should go round, that little dish there...

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?" the black-haired woman finally spoke up in a normal tone.

Behind the trio was another couple where the woman seemed nervous as she looked to her husband, "Lou, can you hear them?"

"Hear what, sweetheart?" Lou asked, sensing her nervousness rising.

"The voices. So many voices. Calling to us. Calling so far."

"Oh, the little dish is going round!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Look Minerva."

She smiled and nodded, "Yup. Oh, but..." the dish started spinning until a part of the gadget exploded, "I don't think it's supposed to do that.."

"Excuse me. Do you mind?" a blonde woman behind them gave both a sharp look, irritated with the commotion.

The Doctor stood up, "Sorry. That was my little dish."

"Can't you turn that thing off?" the black-haired woman asked

"What was your name?" he looked at her for a second.

"Christina."

"Christina, hold on tight," he told a seat beside Minerva ad wound an arm around her waist while the other hand held onto the handle, "Everyone, hold on!"

The bus lurched and shook, making the passengers scream and jerk forwards. The Doctor fell to the floor with Minerva unfortunately.

"The voices! Oh, the voices, they're screaming!" Lou's wife cried.

One of the bus windows shattered and sparks flew from the overhead wires. A young man toppled down the stairs from the upper deck and shouted as soon as he could, "What's going on?!"

With a blinding light, the rest of the windows started shattering. A couple minutes later, the Doctor opened his eyes to find the wrecked bus and the _sunlight_ that streamed through the window, that had definitely not been there a couple minutes ago!

"Oh, it is _hot_ " Minerva groaned as she sat up.

"Are you alright!?" he quickly turned to her, "Is it too much!?"

She shooed his hands off her as they stood up, "A bit of a new heat, but..." she looked around, seeing the endless sand hills that was now their new environment, "...manageable."

He sighed in relief, it seemed that the adaptation was going just fine for the Clever Girl. It was a fact that she, unlike the rest of the Moontsays except Zohar, could withstand much higher levels of heat. However, that didn't mean she easily resistant _all_ type of heat. So, the Doctor had made it his job to slowly introduce her to those other heat levels little by little. It was a work of patience and even if he really had none, he magically garnered extremely high levels of it when it came to Minerva. It seemed like it was all paying off seeing how she was taking the new desert they were in.

The pair moved to the doors and opened it up to look at the desert, "End of the line," the Doctor declared as he stepped out, taking Minerva by the waist and pulling her down, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

The other passengers slowly started coming out of the bus where they took observation of their bus and environment. The bus's tip deck was crushed with smoke wafting from it. Apart from that, it seemed lie they were the only ones around.

Minerva watched the Doctor laying on the ground letting the sand sift through his fingers. She really didn't know what he was trying to accomplish. The sand was just...sand. She supposed this was one of the lessons he was yet to teach her. She'd been learning a lot faster now that she wasn't human anymore, but it wasn't like she was a genius either. Even with a fast pace the universe was vast and had many complicated things about it that simply didn't stick in her head.

"That's impossible. There are three suns. Three of them!" a blonde woman exclaimed, horrified at the sight in the sky.

"Like when all those planets were up in the sky!" a second young man added.

"But it was Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" the first young man asked.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!"

"It's still intact, though! Not as bad as it looks," the bus driver was studying the bus, "The chassis's still holding together. Oh, my boss is gonna murder me!"

"Can we please desist of the word 'murder', please?" Minerva had looked back with a displeased face. That word was still sensitive to her and she didn't wanted to hear it any more.

"Can you still drive it?" the blonde woman asked the driver.

"Oh, no, the wheels are stuck. Look at them, they're never gonna budge," the driver gestured to the tires that were deep inside the sand.

Christina took off her jacket once she felt the desert heat and put on some black sunglasses, "Ready for every emergency."

The Doctor and Minerva looked back and saw the woman with her sunglasses. The Doctor took off his own glasses and used the sonic to tint them then promptly put then back on, "Me too!" he cast a concerned look at Minerva, "Would you like some, dear?"

"No," she declared rather fast, "I wanna get used to this kind of heat. Eyes too," she pointed at them.

"And what's your names?" Christina asked them.

"Minerva," the brunette raised a finger.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Name, not rank," Christina gave him a sharp look.

"The Doctor."

"Surname?"

"The Doctor."

"You're called 'the Doctor'?"

"Yes, I am."

"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."

Minerva snickered, "That is the most underrated line of your life," she looked down at the Doctor.

He mock-glared at her for a minute then returned to the sand, "Funny sort of sand, this. There's a trace of something else," he put some of the sand on the tip of his tongue to 'taste' it then crinkled his face, "Blah, that's not good."

"That's _sand_ ," Minerva frowned and made a distasteful face, "And this is me...stepping _away_ from your mouth."

Quietly, the Doctor scoffed, "That won't last long," he mumbled as he stood up.

" _What_ was that?"

"Nothing, dear," he flashed a small smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes, "You walk on thin land, Martian. Why don't we get back to business? What, I dare to ask, did that sand taste like that?"

At that, the Doctor's sense of playfulness faded. He really would rather not answer that and really scare her, "Nothing important," he dismissed the question, avoiding the questioning look she was giving him.

The rest of the passengers started coming over, one person singled out already as the culprit, "Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate! You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?" one of the young men had a pointing fingers at the Doctor.

"Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me," the Doctor mumbled, not even surprised anymore, "If you must know, we were was tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby. But it was a tiny little hole, no danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it."

"But then where is it? There's nothing, there's just sand!" the driver gestured to the surroundings.

"All right. If you want proof," the Doctor reached down for some sand, "We drove through this," he threw the sand at the space behind the bus to real a swirling vortex that quickly disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

"And that was?" Christina stared where the Vortex was.

"A door in space!" Minerva exclaimed excitedly, quickly realizing the other may not have been as excited to know that information.

"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home? We can get to London through there?" the bus driver asked

"The bus came through, but we can't," the Doctor answered but apparently ignored.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" the bus driver looked at the other passengers.

"Oh, no, don't," the Doctor tried calling but the man wouldn't listen.

The driver headed for the portal, "I'm going home, mate!"

"I said don't!"

The driver headed into the portal and screamed as his body caught fire.

"He was a skeleton, man! He was bones, just bones!" one of the young men cried.

Minerva walked back to the bus, observing it's state, "It was the bus that kept us sage, right?" she looked at the Doctor who had moved up beside her, "It protected us, right?" he smiled and nodded before kissing her head, making her beam she'd gotten another thing right.

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina walked over, staying by the entrance of the bus.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" one of the young men asked, "Safest place is inside a car, cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school."

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus... A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open," Christina looked at the top of the bus.

"Slightly different dynamics with a wormhole. There's enough metal to make it work, I think. I hope," the Doctor made a face as he also looked over the bus.

"Then we have to drive five tonnes of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?"

"I'd say nine and a half tonners..." the Doctor trailed off

Minerva peered around him with a polite smile, "But he means you're correct."

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Yes, at last, thank you, so..." the Doctor turned to the group...when Christina took over.

"Well, thank goodness you've got me! Everyone do exactly as I say! Inside the bus immediately!" she motioned for everyone to get on inside.

"Is it safe in there?" one of the young men asked.

"I don't think anything's safe any more, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now! And you. 'The Doctor'," Christina eyed him before stepping inside.

Minerva giggled at the face her Martian was making and moved in front of him, "Is someone upset their dominance is being threatened?"

He looked at her with a mock-glare and pointed, "Shush."

She rolled her eyes and pulled him inside the bus, "C'mon, Martian."

~ 0 ~

Christina was busy giving her speech to the other passengers as leader, "Point five, the crucial thing is, do not panic. Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina, this man is apparently 'the Doctor' and that is Minerva," Christina gestured to each of the pair.

"Hello," Minerva wiggled her fingers.

"And you?" Christina turned to one of the young men.

"Nathan," he waved.

"I'm Barclay," the other said

"Angela, Angela Whittaker," the blonde female went next

"My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou, and this is Carmen," the third man gestured to his wife beside him.

"Excellent. Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point seven, assessment and application of knowledge. Over to you, the Doctor," Christina pointed to the man.

"I thought you were in charge," the Doctor made a face, confused for a minute.

"I am. And a good leader utilizes her strength. You seem to be the brainbox. So, start boxing."

He shrugged and moved to sit on the back of his seat, facing the rest of the group, "Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, it wasn't. That thing, the doorway. Someone made it. For a reason," Carmen cut in.

"How do you know that?" Minerva asked, curious.

"She's got a gift. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just... tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week," Lou explained.

"You don't look like millionaires," Christina remarked.

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift!"

The Doctor hid three fingers behind his back as he moved up to Carmen, "Tell me, Carmen. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," Carmen replied and when the Doctor added another finger behind his back, she spoke again, "Four."

" Very good! Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun," the Doctor sat down across her, "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me. What's out there?"

"Something... Something is coming. Riding on the wind. And shining."

"What is it?"

"Death. Death is coming."

Angela began weeping at the words, "We're going to die."

"I knew it, man, I said so," Barclay shook his head.

"We can't die out here. No-one's gonna find us," Nathan looked out to the endless sand.

The passengers started talking all at once, all sharing the same fear.

"This isn't exactly helping," Christina rubbed her temple.

"Shut up, we're not your soldiers," Barclay snapped.

"It's not doing any good..." Nathan said.

"You're upsetting her, be quiet!" Lou exclaimed.

"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?!" Nathan cried.

"Hey, STOP IT!" Minerva shouted, her voice above all the others. She stood in the center of the bus with her hands on her hips, "God I really miss my whistling abilities," she mumbled to herself.

The only sound new heard in the bus was Angela's quiet weeping. The Doctor moved to stand in front of her, gripping her shoulders, "Angela, look at me. Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me," she stopped crying to look up at him, "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?"

"It does matter this time," Minerva gave a small smile and moved beside them, "So just answer the question."

"Just home..." Angela answered

"And what's home?" the Doctor asked her.

"Me, and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18."

"Brilliant age," Minerva remarked and patted Angela's shoulder. She looked over to the others, seeing them still uneasy, "What about you, Barclay? What was going on tonight?"

"Dunno. Going round Tina's," he shrugged, sighing.

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?" the Doctor looked back.

"Not yet..." Barclay smiled a bit mischievously.

"Good boy. May I suggest you not waste time, it's a very precious thing," the Doctor smiled softly as he glanced back at Minerva.

She blushed under his gaze and looked at Nathan instead, "What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash, I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in. Watch TV."

"Brilliant. And you two?" the Doctor called to pair at the back of the bus.

"I was going to cook," Lou replied first.

"It's his turn tonight. Then I clear up," Carmen added.

"What's for tea?"

"Chops. Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special," Lou said.

"I think if you're eating together and happy, then it's _very_ special," Minerva corrected, "I know it's special to me when I eat with my Martian."

"The brownies are my favorite part," the Doctor admitted with an excited grin, "So it _is_ very special, Lou, Carmen."

"What about you, Christina?" Minerva looked back at the black-haired woman who had been oddly quiet for the moment.

"I was going... so far away..." she answered absently.

"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina," the Doctor shrugged as Barclay gave him a sharp look.

"Hey!"

"He's kidding," Minerva apologetically smiled at Barclay then promptly smacked the Doctor upside the head, "Stop being rude to people!"

"Sorry, dear," he mumbled and rubbed the back of his head, "Alright, back to the point: just think of them and what your plans were for tonight. 'Cos that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people. Hold on to that. Cos we're gonna get there. I promise. I'm gonna get you home."

" _We're_ going to get you all home," Minerva corrected the passengers and clarified to the Doctor. She would have no more of this 'he saving the world', no. They were married now and as such _she_ would stand by him in _all_ situations that affected them: together.

~ 0 ~

Barclay and Nathan were coming out of the bus holding seat cushions where the Doctor and Minerva met up with them, "Here we go! That's my boys! We lay a flat surface between the bus and the wormhole, like duckboards, and reverse into it!"

"Let some air out of the tyres, just a little bit. Spreads the weight of the bus, gives you more grip," Christina joined them.

"Oh, that's good," Minerva remarked.

"Holidays in the Kalahari."

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay reminded.

"Then start digging," Christina shrugged.

"With what?"

"With this," Christina reached into her bag and pulled out a folding shovel.

"Wow, got anything else in there?" Minerva blinked as the Doctor took the shovel and opened it then handed it to Barclay.

"Try that, might help with the seats," Christina handed a small axe.

"Thanks!" Nathan took the axe and headed back to the bus.

"I can't find the keys!" they heard Angela from the inside of the bus.

"Buses don't have keys!" Minerva half-shouted as she poked her head inside the bus, "I saw that when I used to travel. There's this master switch, one button for start, the other one for stop, yeah?"

Angela, sitting in the driver's seat, checked for the button, "Hold on, oh, I've got it," she flicked a switch, "Here we go, hold tight, ding ding!"

"Clever one you are," the Doctor neared Minerva from behind and kissed her head.

"It's not clever, it's observation," she corrected.

Angela had pressed the button but the engine spluttered for a second then died.

"Oh, that doesn't sound too good," the Doctor took Minerva and himself over to the engine and took a look, "Oh! Never mind losing half the top deck, you know what's worse? Sand. Tiny little grains of sand. The engine's clogged up."

Christina walked around to where Barclay and Nathan worked on the wheels, "Anyone know mechanics?"

"Me!" Barclay stood up, "I did a two-week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..."

"Well come on!" Minerva called, "Let's see how much you learned!"

"Try stripping the air filter, fast as you can," the Doctor took Minerva's hand and started heading away towards the dunes, "Back in two ticks."

"Wait a minute!" Christina called after them and quickly hurried to follow, "You're the man and woman with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight."

~ 0 ~

Minerva passed a hand through her hair, feeling slightly enclosed with the heat as she walked through the desert. She could take it, she knew it...but it wasn't going to be easy. She shrugged her elbows to try and lift off a piece of hair for at least a second. Then, she'd run her hand through it just to lift off her shoulders once more. She had even discarded her gray sweater in the middle of the desert, ignoring the Doctor's suggestion to simply hand it over where he could keep it safe. She was determined to make this work, she would not give up at the first real struggle of heat, no sir.

"Do you happen to have something for hair inside that bag of yours?" she settled for asking Christina for a bit of help, but only for a _bit_. At the first sign of genuine help the Doctor was sure to overreact and quickly send her back to the bus where it was slightly less hot.

Christina nodded and reached for one of the backpack's smaller pockets in front and took out a black scrunchie, "Ever thought of just cutting it?"

"NO..." Minerva made a horrific expression that made Christina laugh.

"Asking her to do that is like asking her to stop breathing," the Doctor casually remarked.

"Really?" Christina raised an eyebrow, making it sound like it was ridiculous, but to her it really was.

"Thank you," Minerva took the scrunchie from Christina and proceeded to pick up her hair, "Let me make a comparison to you, Christina, that'll make you understand the value: asking me to cut my hair is like me asking you to leave that backpack behind."

"No, no, this goes where I go," she pointed to the backpack, playfully rolling her eyes at the look Minerva was giving her, "Yeah, fine, I get it now."

Minerva chuckled as she fixed the last part of her ponytail, "Knew it would work. I'm clever like that, you know."

"My clever wife," the Doctor remarked, wounding an arm around her waist.

"You two are _married_?" Christina blinked, surprised, "Really?"

"Why do you say it like that?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, not offended simply curious of the reaction.

"Just didn't strike me as the married couple. I can see it Carmen and Lou, but...not you two..." she eyed the pair to see if she could be wrong but simply did not see the picture 'happy married' couple.

"Well, to be fair, you didn't strike me as a woman who's afraid of sirens," the Doctor gave her a sharp look, "Just who are _you_?"

"As much of a mystery as you two are," Christina countered.

"We're not mysteries," Minerva corrected, "We're just a pair of travelers, that's all."

"Let's just leave it as mysteries, shall we?"

Minerva shrugged and gave up.

"So why not tell me about Carmen's prediction?" Christina asked, "If that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know," the Doctor answered as they stopped walking, "But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet, right now."

"And do you think we can?"

"We live in hope, it's kind of our thing," Minerva informed casually, "But I know we'll get out of this, just like we always do."

"That must be nice..." Christina paused and eyed the two before holding her hand out to the, "It's Christina de Souza. To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza."

"Hey! We're cousins," Minerva laughed as she shook Christina's hand, "Minerva _Souza_ , get it? Only I'm not a Lady..."

"You very well can be, you're a princess after all," the Doctor corrected as he shook Christina's hand, "And I'm a Lord."

"Princess of what? And Lord of what?" Christina raised an eyebrow.

"Quite a big estate," Minerva answered, "For both of us..."

"No, but there's something more about you," Christina looked at the Doctor suddenly, "That device you were carrying, and the wormhole. Like you knew. And the way you stride around this place, like..."

"Like?" the Doctor asked.

"Like you're not quite..."

"Anyway! Come on! Allons-y!" the Doctor continued on with Minerva, the brunette groaning as they did.

"What have I said about that word?"

"That it was very adorable when I said it," he smirked.

"Shut up," she playfully rolled her eyes.

They stopped on a high dune that looked to the horizon where they could ahead in a distance the sky was becoming grayer and grayer.

"Ah. Don't like the look of that," the Doctor said.

Christina shaded her eyes, "Storm clouds. Must be hundreds of miles away."

"But it's getting closer," Minerva frowned.

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds," Christina said.

"It's a storm. Who says it's _sand_?" the Doctor challenged, all three immediately running back.

~ 0 ~

Lou and Carmen were still sitting in the bus, Carmen with her eyes closed and mumbling, "Closer... and closer and closer..."

The Doctor hurried inside the bus with Minerva, Christina and Barclay behind him, "Where is it?"

"There, there on the seat," Barclay pointed to his seat where his cellphone laid in.

"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina exclaimed.

"Oh, just watch me. Right, now, bit of hush, thank you," the Doctor started dialing on the phone, "Gotta remember the number, very important number."

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" they heard a man on the other line answer as the phone was on speaker.

"Pizza is an important number?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Shush," the Doctor pointed as he hung up and redialed, "Seven-six, not six-seven..."

"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Please select one of the following four options," a new voice answered.

"Oh, I hate these things!" the Doctor exclaimed, noticing how pale Minerva had gotten once the phone had been answered again.

Minerva was severely uncomfortable with UNIT, despite being the place her best friend worked in. To say the word 'uncomfortable' wouldn't even cover her feelings towards the place... _terror_ described it perfectly. Now that she knew who she was and what UNIT could've done to her if they had figured out her actual origin before her...well...she'd had some pretty bad nightmares that would describe it. She knew UNIT had closed their investigation on her and left in the dark but it didn't stop her fear that one day someone new in the place would pick up the file and re-open the case. The Doctor had tried numerous times to remind her that _he_ was still working for them (in technical terms) and that he would never allow UNIT to lay even a finger on her. Plus, he was actually on good terms with UNIT nowadays and just by that relationship the two shared, Minerva wouldn't be harmed. He just needed to prove that to her, perhaps today could be the day...

"No, if you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person," Angela suggested to the Doctor, "I saw it on Watchdog!"

"Thank you, Angela," the Doctor sat down and reached for Minerva's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to let her know he was here and she would be okay.

"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" a new woman's voice answered the other line.

"Listen, it's the Doctor! It's me!"

~ 0 ~

A soldier approached the captain with a mobile, "Captain! Urgent call, ma'am, relayed direct from HQ."

"Who is it?" the captain asked.

"It's him, ma'am. It's the Doctor."

The captain took the cellphone and spoke through it, "Doctor. This is Captain Erisa Magambo," she saluted, "Might I say, sir, it's an honor."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor made a face, "Did you just salute?"

"...no."

"Erisa, it's about the bus. HQ said you're at the tunnel, yeah?"

"And where are you?"

"I'm on the bus. But apart from that, not a clue," the Doctor looked out the window, "Except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous."

"A body came through here. Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

"No, and we're not going to. But I'm stuck. I haven't got the Tardis, and I need to analyse that wormhole."

"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr Malcolm Taylor..."

~ 0 ~

Erisa was entering a mobile physics lab filled with electronic equipment. Malcolm, an older man wearing glasses and a white lab coat sat in the midst of the place.

"Just the man you need, he's a genius," Erisa said.

"Oh, is he? We'll see about that," the Doctor said, over the speaker phone as well.

"Don't be rude!" Minerva's voice came afterwards.

"Here's the Doctor," Erisa told Malcolm as she shut the door.

"No, I'm all right now, thanks. It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice," Malcolm cluelessly said.

"No, it's _the_ Doctor."

"Do you mean... "the Doctor" Doctor?!" Malcolm nearly gasped.

"I know. We all want to meet him one day, but we all know what that day will bring," Erisa mumbled.

"I can hear everything you're saying," the Doctor reminded.

Malcolm incredulously upon hearing the Doctor's voice, "Hello, Doctor? Oh, my goodness!"

"Yes, I am. Hello, Malcolm!"

Malcolm chuckled, "The Doctor! Cor blimey. I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"

~ 0 ~

Minerva bit her nails endlessly as the Doctor spoke on the phone through...UNIT. The man, Malcolm, sounded very nice, cheerful even, but that didn't change the fact he worked for UNIT...the institution that had wanted to seize her as human...it terrified her.

"Really? What was your favorite, the giant robot? No, no hold on, let's sort out that wormhole," the Doctor shook his head and stood up, 'Scuse me," he took Minerva's hand and led them to the front of the bus, needing her to see he wouldn't let go of her for one moment when UNIT was involved. He plopped down on the driver's seat, pulling Minerva down to his lap. He gave her a kiss on her temple and wound his arm around her waist, "Malcolm, something's not making sense here. I've got a storm and a wormhole, and I can't help thinking there's a connection. I need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing," he ordered.

"I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator. I thought it could measure the energy signature," Malcolm said.

"No, that'll never work. Just listen to me."

"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."

"Fifteen what?" the Doctor blinked.

"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."

"You named a unit of measurement after yourself?"

"It didn't do Mr Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."

"Right. Fine. But before I die of old age, which in my case would be quite an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone else I can talk to?" the Doctor felt a small chuckle escape his wife and beamed, "Actually, no, stay on the line, you're doing someone very important to me good," he smiled at Minerva.

"Um...okay," Malcolm slowly said, confused, "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."

"You did what?"

"Is that wrong?"

" No, Malcolm, that's brilliant! So you can actually measure the wormhole. OK, I admit, that is genius!"

~ 0 ~

"The Doctor called me a genius," Malcolm excitedly looked at Erisa beside him.

"I know, I heard," Erisa nodded.

"Now, run a capacity scan. I need a full report. Call me back when you've done it. And Malcolm? You're my new best friend-well, no, my wife's my first best friend but you can be the second."

"Uh, you're mine too, sir," Malcolm said before the phone call ended. Confused, he looked over to Erisa, "The Doctor has a wife?"

"That can't be right..." Erisa thought for a moment on it, "...there was nothing in the files..." she mumbled as she started heading out, confused.

~ 0 ~

" Barclay, I'm holding on to this," the Doctor waved the man's phone as he and Minerva stood up.

" Then you'd better bring it back!" Barclay warned as the two went out, Christina once again hurrying to catch up.

~ 0 ~

"Send this back to Earth, see if Malcolm can analyse the storm," the Doctor held up the phone high up to take a picture.

"There's something in those clouds, something shining. Look..." Christina pointed.

"That looks like metal," Minerva tilted her head, the Doctor taking a picture with the phone.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina frowned.

"We never did say it was sand..." Minerva mumbled.

While the Doctor snapped more pictures, Christina heard the sound of chirruping, "Did you hear something?" she asked.

"Hold on. Busy," the Doctor replied, turning.

"Well, Minerva? Did you hear it too?" Christina tried as she looked around.

"A bit, yeah," the brunette nodded.

Christina's eyes widened when she saw an insectoid creature watching them, "Doctor, Minerva..."

The creature approached the trio with a weapon in its hand and began to speak, more like click. The Doctor answered back in its language, "That's 'wait'. I shout 'wait', people usually wait."

"You speak the language?" Christina looked up at the man with wide eyes.

"Every language, actually," Minerva smiled in amusement as her Martian and the creature spoke.

"That's begging for mercy," he informed the women.

The creature motioned with its gun.

"And that means 'move'," Minerva pointed.

"Ooh! You're learning. Clever you are!"

Minerva chuckled, "Nope, it's just how it usually goes with us," he made a face and agreed.

The creature marched the trio off in front of it.

"These fly things, they must be responsible. They brought us here," Christina said as they arrived at the creature's crashed ship.

"No, no, no, no, no! Look at the ship, it's a wreck. They crashed, just like us," the Doctor pointed at the half-destroyed ship on the sand.

~ 0 ~

The interior of the alien ship was no better than the outside. It had the appearance of ongoing construction with wires and electronics all over the place.

"But this place is freezing!" Christina shivered.

Minerva loudly sighed in relief of the lower temperature they were now in. She didn't want to admit it but the new climate change outside was more than she could handle at the moment.

"You okay?" the Doctor turned to her with concern.

"Now I am," she nodded with a dim smile.

"Why's it so cold?" Christina asked while rubbing her arms in an attempt to regain some of her heat.

"The hull's made of Photafine steel," the Doctor answered her, "Turns cold when it's hot. Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside."

"Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!" Minerva remarked playfully.

"That's how I like things. Extreme," the black-haired woman nodded firmly.

"Oh, this is beautiful! Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!" the Doctor looked arund with intrigue.

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured," Christina mock-glared, "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"

A second creature joined the group and touched its device attached to its clothes.

The Doctor noticed it and nodded, "Oh, right, good, yes, hello! That's a telepathic translator. He can understand us."

"Still sounds like gibberish to me," Christina remarked.

"It doesn't seem to work the other way around, though," Minerva observed, "What does he say, Doctor?" she looked at him.

"Um, "You will suffer for your crimes." Et cetera. "You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race," he translated then looked at both women, "Tritovores, they're called Tritovores. And they say "You came here in the 200 to destroy us." Sorry, what's the 200?"

"It's the bus. Number 200, they mean the bus," Christina reminded.

"Oh! No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did," he gestured to himself, "I'm the Doctor, by the way, and this is my wife, Minerva and our friend Christina, the Honorable Lady Christina, at least we hope she's honorable! But we got pulled through that wormhole. The 200 doesn't look like that normally. It's broken, just the same as you."

The Tritivores spoke to each other and lowered their guns.

"What are they doing?" Christina asked at the motion.

"They believed him," Minerva guessed.

"What, as simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face. And the translator says I'm telling the truth. Plus, the face," the Doctor flashed a cheeky grin, "Right! So, first things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?" he made his way to a control panel with Minerva, followed by the Tritivore with the translator as it spoke to them, "Ah, they've lost power. Hmm, the crash knocked the mainline crystallography out of sync. But if I can jiggle it back..." the Doctor kicked the panel and the power came back, " I thank you!" the creature chittered, "Yes, I am! Frequently. Okie-dokie, let's launch that probe."

The trio watched the picture they garnered from the probe as a hologram projection in front of them.

"Oh! This is the Scorpion Nebula, right!?" Minerva exclaimed excitedly as she looked at the Doctor for confirmation.

He smiled softly and nodded, "You got it, dear."

She beamed, "Yes! My lessons are paying off," she looked at Christina who had been looking in amusement, "We're on the other side of the universe, Christina. Just what you wanted, so far away. This is the planet of San Helios."

"Correct, correct, correct," the Doctor kissed her head, happy she was beginning to gain more knowledge after her months of learning.

"And that's us? We're on another world," Christina looked at the projection with awe.

"We have been for quite a while," Minerva said.

"I know, but seeing it like that..."

"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor asked, knowing the feeling the woman had to be feeling.

"Wonderful," Christina smiled.

The Tritivores started telling their story to the trio, only the Doctor understanding what was being said.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios. Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb," the Doctor explained.

"By waste matter, you mean?" Christina crinkled her nose, half-guessing what he was trying to say.

"They feed off what others leave behind. From their... _behind,_ " the Doctor clarified, "If you see what I mean. It's perfectly natural. They are flies."

"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them," Christina mumbled.

Minerva was watching the projection show a thriving city with trees and green parks, "Well this is quite beautiful," she remarked, "San Helios City."

"That's amazing. But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?" Christina looked at the pair.

"Thousands of times," the Doctor nodded.

"That Lordship of yours... The Lord of where, exactly?" Christina asked, suddenly intrigued, "And you said Princess," she looked at Minerva, "Princess of what?"

"Of Time. I come from a race of people called Time Lords," the Doctor answered first.

"Princess of the Silver Monsoon," Minerva offhandedly replied, "Water-based race - well, part of _his_ ," she jerked a thumb at the Doctor.

"So you're both...aliens?" Christina looked from one another, as if searching for anything that would back up their statements.

"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss us either," the Doctor mumbled, "Don't you dare," he subconsciously pulled Minerva closer to his side.

"But you both look human..."

"Well technically, _you_ ," Minerva pointed at herself and Christina, "Look Time Lord. Our races came first."

"But anyways, back to the point," the Doctor reminded to the projection.

"So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us!" Christina exclaimed.

"But that's the problem," Minerva looked at the projection as it changed to the desert they were in now, "This _is_ the city..."

"But it's sand! That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

One of the Tritovores chirruped and so the Doctor translated, "The image was taken last year."

"It became a desert in one year?" Minerva frowned.

"I said there was something in the sand," he bent down and let the sand fall through his fingers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Minerva asked.

He looked up with a bit of guilt, "It would've scared you."

"It would not have..." she shifted as she took notice of all the sand, "...a lot..."

He just sighed as if that proved his point, "It's the city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife and 100 billion people, turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

"But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!" Christina shook her head and hair, now wishing she would've used that scrunchie Minerva had for herself.

"Doctor, even if it scares me I still want to know," Minerva adamantly said as he stood back up, facing her, "I'm actually trying not to be so fearful of things but you know after this regeneration everything's a bit more...fearful, after everything I had previously went through. But that doesn't mean I don't want to know the reality of situations we're in. So next time, please just tell me, alright?"

"Alright, that sounds fair," the Doctor nodded, though he still wasn't very convinced. He only wanted to protect her from scary things and whenever he could, he wold, "So something destroyed the whole of San Helios and we should probably know why."

"And _who_ ," Minerva pointed.

"It's in m hair!" Christina was still stuck on that.

Suddenly, Barclay's cellphone rang and the Doctor pulled it from his pocket, "Malcolm, tell me the bad news!"

~ 0 ~

Malcolm was sat on his chair with his phone on speaker and Erisa beside him, "Oh, you are clever! It is bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."

"How can it get bigger by itself?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, that's why I'm phoning! You'll work it out, if I know you, sir."

"Doctor, we estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles, heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through," Erisa spoke up.

"Good work, both of you," the Doctor praised.

"But I have to know. Does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?" Erisa questioned.

~ 0 ~

The phone beeped and so the Doctor looked at it, "Oh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go," he switched it off for the other call.

~ 0 ~

"Call waiting!?" Erisa half-shouted.

"He's a devil, that one!" Malcolm laughed.

"I'll say he's got a lot of explaining, starting with that wife of his..." she shook her head, "...I found the file."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow, seeing the subject was more complicated apparently, he only wondered why.

~ 0 ~

"Yep?" the Doctor answered the other call.

"Doctor, it's Nathan. We got those duckboard things down, but..."

"It's my fault," the Doctor heard Angela in the background.

"No, it's not, don't say that," Nathan shushed her.

"Why, what's happened?" the Doctor asked.

"We kept on turning the engine, but... We're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...This bus is never going to move."

The Doctor lowered the phone and Minerva immediately saw the new expression her husband wore, "What's wrong?" she asked him quietly.

"You promised you'd get us home. Doctor? Are you still there?" Nathan asked.

"Doctor, tell me, what did they say?" Minerva asked, Christina joining them.

A beeping noise from the monitors interrupted them followed by the excited chirrups of the Tritovores.

"It's the probe. It's reached the storm," the Doctor moved to the monitors.

"And what's he saying?" Christina questioned.

"It's not a storm."

~ 0 ~

The probe was flying through a massive amount of creatures flying in the air, looking like manta-rays which the group could see through a video on the ship.

~ 0 ~

"Okay, scared now..." Minerva breathed, "That's a swarm...millions and millions of them..."

"Billions," the Doctor's eyes widened.

One of the creatures flew straight for the probe with its mouth wide open and showing off its sharp teeth. The connection was lost.

"Ah! We've lost the probe. I think it got eaten," Minerva trembled a bit and shook her head.

"Everything on this planet gets eaten," the Doctor realized with distaste.

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked.

"Hundred miles. But at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes," the Doctor replied and the Tritovores chirruped, "No, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole."

"But that means they're heading for Earth!" Minerva gasped.

"Show the analysis," the Doctor instructed the Tritovores. Quickly, a 3D image of the creatures appeared before them, "Incredible! They swarm out of a wormhole, strip the planet bare, then move on to the next world, start the life cycle all over again."

"So, they make the wormholes?" Minerva asked curiously.

"They must do," the Doctor replied.

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians," Christina observed, "And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"Because they need to be?" he tried then shook his head, "No. That's bonkers. Hang on! Yes! Oh! Do you see? Billions of them, flying in formation, all around the planet, round and round and round, faster and faster and faster, till they generate a rupture in space! The speed of them, and the numbers, and the size, all of that rips the wormhole into existence!"

"And the wormhole's getting bigger," Minerva reminded, "Because they're getting closer?"

"Correct!"

"But how do they get through? Cos that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it!" Christina reminded.

"No, no, see the exo-skeleton?" the Doctor pointed to the projection.

"It's _metal_ ," Minerva blinked, "Wow..."

"They've got bones of metal! They eat metal, and extrude it into the exo-skeleton! So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe! Perfect design!"

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert. So why exactly are you smiling?" Christina raised an eyebrow.

"Worse it gets, the more I love it!"

Minerva shook her head and sighed when Christina gave her a look, "Yes, I _did_ voluntarily marry that."

"Hey," the Doctor pouted.

"The thing is, Doctor, you're missing the obvious," Christina said before the man started another little moment with his wife, "We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"

"Ah, good question! What a team! Like she said, why did you crash?" he asked the creatures.

One of the Tritovores lead the group into another room with a large open hole on the floor where apparently the answer laid.

The Doctor observed the hole, "Oh, yes. Gravity Well, look. Goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?" the creature chirruped, "He says the drive system stalled. Ten miles up, they fell out of the sky. But what caused that?"

The Tritovore shrugged.

"No idea," Minerva sighed.

"Yeah. But wait a minute, that's a crystal nucleus down there, yes?" he looked at the creature which chirruped, "And it looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact... Oh, yes, that's better than diesel!"

"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" Christina asked.

"I think so. The spaceship's a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a Crystal drive a bus?"

" In a super-clever outer-spacey way, just trust me!" the Doctor pulled a feed on a monitor.

"What have I said about those words?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "You got me doing them!"

"I'm a very good influence," he smirked then glanced at the Tritovore, "There's the crystal! It's fallen to the bottom of the well. Have you got access shafts?" it chirruped, "All frozen? Maybe I can open them! Internal comms, put that on," he gave Minerva a Bluetooth-like device and ran for the door, "You two stay here, keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens," the Tritovore followed him.

"Where it's safer," Minerva sighed and gave Christina a tired, irritated look.

"Overprotective?"

Minerva rolled her eyes and nodded. She covered the part of the speaker before she talked, "I had um...an accident, months ago where I changed and needed a lot more protection. I sort of used be like a human, all fragile and stuff, so he took it upon himself to protect me. And that was nice and all - it still _is_ ," she admitted with a light shrug, "But I'm myself again. I've got my strength back and I'm getting my powers too, but he's taken this job of protection severely serious to the point where I don't think he'll ever let me try anything dangerous again no matter how many times he tells me he'll 'try'," she rolled her eyes.

"And it's highly annoying," Christina slowly moved to the hole, well, and peered down.

"Truly," Minerva sighed, "It's more irritating because he thinks the dangerous jobs are all _his_. _He's_ the one that has to deal with the enemies and has to keep everyone safe. And yes, I like when he protects me but that doesn't mean I want him to do it _all_ the time. We're a team, we're married, I want to help him too."

In all the meantime, Christina had moved back to the well and peered down, a small idea popping into her head.

"I understand he's only looking out for me but I want to prove to him that I'm no longer that meek woman he met years ago. I'm different, _literally_. I can handle more things but he just needs to give me the chance to prove it," Minerva continued.

"If I can use that sunlight to start the automatic maintenance. Minerva?" she heard the Doctor call through the bluetooth, "If you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know."

"Got it," Minerva replied quietly as she turned to face Christina.

She blinked when the black-haired woman held out a harness, "Well my dear _cousin_...how'd you like to prove to your husband you're more than ready to get in the game?"

Minerva followed Christina's gaze to the well and immediately knew what the plan was. Christina raised an eyebrow and smirked, nodding to the well, daring the brunette woman to go ahead and do what she wanted, what she _needed_ to do.

"Minerva, anything now?" she heard the Doctor ask again.

Minerva bit her lip and held her hands to Christina, "Gimme."

Christina quietly laughed and obeyed.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was pulling and connecting cables in the other room, "Anything now?" he asked again.

~ 0 ~

Minerva now wore the harness which Christina was making sure was set correctly, "Nothing," Minerva said.

~ 0 ~

"Any sign of movement?" he sighed.

"Nope."

"How's that?"

~ 0 ~

Christina set up a wire cable and winch for Minerva, "Nothing," the brunette replied again.

"Any result?"

Christina attached the cable to the harness, "Martian, you need that crystal right?" Minerva asked, Christina took out a small torch from her bag and attached it by Velcro to the harness.

"Yup, that would be right," the Doctor cluelessly replied.

"Then consider it done," Minerva winked at Christina, "Thank you," she whispered to the black-haired woman.

"Off you go then you're highness," Christina backed away.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor's eyes widened at his Clever Girl's words, "Minerva? What are you doing?" he had stopped his work.

~ 0 ~

"Proving myself," Minerva determinedly answered, "A good princess does whatever needs to be done for her people and a good wife always helps her husband."

She swan dived into the gravity well.

"NO!" the Doctor hurriedly ran inside the room but too late as his wife was gone, "What have you done!?" he angrily faced Christina.

She was as calm as ever however, "How about instead of yelling you help her?"

~ 0 ~

Minerva tried her best not give any shouts to show her massive fear of her actions as she fell through the well with her arms outstretched.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on the pulley and made Minerva stop, "That's better... _somewhat_ ," he nearly shouted again, still giving Christina dagger glares, "You let her do this!?"

"She wanted to!" Christina exclaimed, crossing her arms, "You're suffocating her with your over-protectiveness!"

"What!?"

"Martian, I was doing good," he heard Minerva's soft voice through their devices.

He sighed in irritation, "Minerva, you were about to hit the security grid, look."

~ 0 ~

Minerva looked down and saw a field of cracking energy below her, "Oh...okay, so what do I do?"

"Try the big red button," he said.

She pressed the button on the wall, "Yes!"

~ 0 ~

"Now come back up! I can do that! PLEASE!" he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, that hole reminding him far too much of the Titanic's engines where she nearly died...

"No."

" _No_?"

"No. I'm doing this so shut up and let me help you."

"You'd be helping me far more if you were _here_!"

"But it's not helping _her_ ," Christina quietly said, earning another round of glares.

"Oh and _you_ are?" he snapped.

"Frankly, yes. She told me you wouldn't let her do anything even when she's her alien self again," Christine didn't understand exactly what that meant but if it would make the Doctor get the idea then she would use it, "How do you expect her to be better if you don't let her try to do stuff on her own?"

" _I_ am her husband and _I_ will protect her. _I'm_ the one supposed to be doing this," he pointed down at the well, "She's innocent and she doesn't know what harm can come to her-"

"She's not innocent," Christina started with that, "And even if she was, it wouldn't be good for her. You can't be innocent in this world and _survive_. She needs to experience things and you're not letting her. God forbid this, but what if something happened to you and you died? You spent all this time protecting her from everything and never allowed her to do something, to protect her self...how would she move on by herself? She wouldn't know anything..."

The Doctor opened his mouth to make a comeback, but...there was nothing really to say. Christina looked at him with a 'I'm right' expression. But as right as she may be, the Doctor could not allow his wife to be doing anything dangerous when he could do it...he didn't _need_ to do it, he was sure Minerva could actually protect herself quite well on her own if she needed to. But, he remembered all those centuries where he was married and she told him of all the dangers the Monsoon had to deal with, apart from her family problems. At those times he wished he could promise, swear, that he would protect her and comfort her...but the fact was he couldn't. He was married, he had his children, he had his wife. Minerva had her own life on the Monsoon and as such deserved a man who could stay at her side and give her the love she deserved.

But that had finally changed and she was his wife now, _his_ wife. Now, he could finally protect her like he'd always wanted to. He could care for her, openly love her and _show_ her he loved her. She didn't need to be worried over these problems because he could always be there now. He would always take care of her.

~ 0 ~

"I'm fine, Martian," Minerva informed the Doctor as she continued on her way down the hole. She didn't like the way she was probably making him feel and that wasn't her intention. But, this was the chance she wanted and finally had thanks to Christina. He would see that nothing bad would happen and that she could help much better than her previous incarnation.

~ 0 ~

"Just...just please be careful," was the Doctor's plead, looking at Christina with a less angry face.

"My cousin is doing just fine," Christina smiled.

"Cousins? Oh no, no, no," he shook his head, "You're a bad influence on her. The moment we finish up, we leave."

"Where to exactly?" she raised an eyebrow, curious, "And how? On a little rocket?"

"I'll have you know my TARDIS is much cooler than a rocket," he frowned, immediately softening when he heard Minerva's laughter.

"What's a TARDIS?" Christina moved around the place, a little bored having to wait for her 'cousin' to reach the destination.

"Well...a little blue box. Travels in more than space," he replied, "It can journey through time, Christina. Oh, the places we've been. World War One. Creation of the universe, end of the universe, the war between China and Japan..." the Doctor tilted his head as he saw something shiny from Christina's backpack. It seemed like his wife's curiosity had infected him because he found himself moving over to the backpack and opening it up, "Oh..." his eyes blinked rapidly, "And the Court of King Athelstan, in 924 AD.," he lifted a golden chalice up just Christina spun around, "But I don't remember you being there. So what are you doing with this?"

Christina stormed over, "Excuse me, a gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions!" she tried taking the chalice but the Doctor lifted it up to where she was unable to reach it.

"Doctor, what's going on?" he heard Minerva ask.

"It's the Cup of Athelstan. Given to the first King of Britain, as a coronation gift from Hywel, King of the Welsh. But it's been held in the International Gallery for 200 years, which makes you, Lady Christina, a thief. Your cousin is actually a thief, Clever Girl."

"I like to think I liberated it," Christina hopped for the chalice.

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"That's not right," the Doctor heard Minerva again, "If she was short of cash she would've robbed a bank or even a liquor store. That's her lifestyle."

"My wife is very clever and she says this is your lifestyle," the Doctor told Christina.

"I take it you both disapprove?" Christina raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely," he nodded before thinking on it more, "Except, that little blue box. I stole it. From my own people."

"AH!" Minerva suddenly yelped.

"What is it!? What's wrong!?" the Doctor peered down the hole.

~ 0 ~

"We never did find out why the ship crashed..." Minerva breathed as she saw the end of the hole coming closer.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva, I think you should come back up," the Doctor swallowed.

"It's too late, I can see it," Minerva said.

"Please, Minerva, _please_ , be careful and do this slowly," he looked over to the Tritovore, "Have you got an open-vent system?" it chirruped, "I thought so."

"What does that mean?" Christina asked, stopping her hopping when she noticed it was serious again.

"It's like when birds fly into the engines of an aircraft..."

~ 0 ~

Minerva reached the bottom and saw one of the creatures, "Oh dear..." she breathed at the sight, "It's one of the creatures..."

"Got trapped in the vents. Caused the crash. Minerva, get out," the Doctor begged again.

"It's not moving, I think it's injured," Minerva offered to relieve his nerves a little.

"No, it's dormant, because it's so cold down there. But your body heat is going to raise the temperature."

"But not that fast," she reminded, "I'm part Moontsay and that should give me just enough time," she tried to release the crystal as best and quickly as she could, "And you needed the entire thing, right?"

The Doctor sighed, "Yes..."

She lifted it from the ground, cautiously looking over at the creature, "I'm almost there, Martian. It's okay."

"Minerva, you're giving me heart attacks," he whined, actually rubbing his chest as he felt them constrict when thinking of the creature with her.

"Not so fun, is it?" she smirked when there was no reply, "Got it!" she looked over to the creature and saw it barely move, "And look at that, it's just waking up."

The Doctor used the screwdriver on the winch and pulled her up, "Come on, come on!"

Minerva saw the red button coming up again and pressed it as she moved past it, turning on the field, "And just for precaution."

"Oh she is very good," Christina remarked as the Doctor swung the brunette over to the side, "Well done, cousin."

"Thanks," Minerva breathed with adrenaline and handed her crystal and couplings.

Suddenly, she found her face turned to a very crossed Martian, "Don't _ever_ do that to me again!" he brought her to his lips for a deep kiss, "Ever, ever, ever!" he pepper-kissed her face until she laughed.

"But it worked out fine, see?" she gestured to the place, "I can do these things now," she took his hands in hers, "I'm not a goddess or anything, or even you, but I'm capable now."

But the Doctor was just too relieved to see her in front of him, safe and alive. He took off all the contraptions on her and pulled her into his arms for a very tight hug, needing to bask in this small moment. He supposed now he understood completely what it meant to have a heart attack, or in his case heart _s_ attack when the person you loved faced a danger.

"Doctor, we need to go," Minerva reminded, trying to wiggle out of his arms, "C'mon, Martian!"

"Right," he pulled back but kept her hand in his with a tight grip, "Commander! Mission complete! Now we've got to get back to the 200, all of us," but the commander Tritovore chittered, "Oh, don't be so daft! A captain can leave his ship if there's a bus standing by."

"We can take you to a nice planet," Minerva promised, "But we have to go now! That swarm can't be long now, c'mon!" she motioned to be followed as they started running.

~ 0 ~

The rest of the bus passengers could see the swarm approaching them only they still believed it was only a storm...except Carmen of course.

"What sort of storm is that?" Angela had to ask.

"Run! Run, run, run, run, run!" Carmen mumbled, sensing the trio, along with two newcomers were running towards them.

As the group ran, the Doctor could hear that cellphone ringing again and when he answered he'd only let Malcolm say his name before he said, "Not now, Malcolm!" and hung up.

"Still rude!" Minerva exclaimed.

They reached the bus where Nathan and Barclay stood at the door, their eyes wide at the Tritovores behind the trio, "What the hell are those?" Nathan pointed.

"Don't point, it's rude," Christina scolded.

"Hey, now you're getting it," Minerva laughed, "And they're friends so be nice," she warned the two men.

"Get inside, get them sitting down," the Doctor ushered the two men away and held the crystal, "Now then, let's have a look."

"So what does that crystal do?" Christina questioned.

He tossed it over his shoulder, "Oh, nothing, don't need the crystal."

"She risked her life for that!" she pointed to Minerva.

"No, no, she...risked," he really didn't like remembering that, "Her life for these," he unhooked one of the clamps, "The clamps!" he ran to the driver's side front tire and attached a clamp, " One there. One there. One there. And one there!" he had made a trip all around the bus putting each clamp on the tires, "Now get in! All of you!" he ushered the women in and the Tritovores.

"But what are the clamps for? Do they turn the wheels?" Christina asked once inside the bus.

The Doctor took a seat in the driver's seat, "Something like that. I just need to fix this. Have you got a hammer in that bag?"

"Oh I bet she does," Minerva sighed as said hammer was pulled out of Christina's bag.

"Phone, phone...: the Doctor handed her the phone, 'Press redial, dear," Minerva dialed the phone while he hooked the plate to the steering wheel. Once someone answered, Minerva placed the phone to his ear, " Malcolm, it's me!"

~ 0 ~

"I'm ready!" Malcolm exclaimed, popping up from the floor with large goggles.

"Ready for what?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know! You tell me!"

"I'll try to get back. There might be something following us. You need to find a way to close the wormhole."

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation, perchance?"

"Oh, Malcolm! You're brilliant!"

"Coming from you, sir, that means the world."

"Doctor, what sort of something?" Erisa spoke into the phone, "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing, I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

~ 0 ~

"Sorry, gotta go," the Doctor nodded to Minerva who hung up the call. He worked on the steering well up until it sparked and made him lean away, "Ah, it's not compatible! Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus. I need to weld the two systems together."

"And how do you do that?" Minerva asked.

" I need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile, something..."

Both looked over to Christina, "Gold."

"Oh, no you don't!" she hugged her backpack and shook her head.

"Christina, what is it worth now?" Minerva softly questioned.

Barclay came forwards to offer his watch, "Hey, hey, use this!"

"I said gold," the Doctor reminded.

"It is gold."

Minerva gave him an apologetic smile, "Let's not add one more bad thing to this," she patted the man's shoulder and sent him back to his seat.

"Christina!" the Doctor exclaimed in frustration.

She looked at her bag then the other passengers and finally took the chalice out, "It's over 1,000 years old. Worth £18 million. Promise me you'll be careful."

He took the cup from her gently, "I promise," he then turned the cup upside down and banged it with the hammer.

"I hate you," she spat.

"Exactly why I threw away the TARDIS hammer," Minerva smirked. She turned to face the passengers, "Ladies and gentlemen please stay seated we are about to leave this desert, hot planet. And yes, there are currently two new passengers, nice Tritovores, so please be nice to them," she flashed a smile to the said aliens who chirruped back.

"No, she stays with me, fellas," the Doctor called to them after their remarks about Minerva being so kind. Yes, she was kind, yes she was funny, and yes she would be staying only with _him._

"What's he going to do, though?" Barclay asked.

"Just do as he says please," Minerva smiled and turned to the Doctor, "You do know what you're doing right?" she whispered to him.

"Come on, that's it... You can do it, you beauty! One last trip!" he coaxed the engine as if it would actually reply, and suddenly the bus powered up and rattled. It rose from the sand, astonishing the passengers.

Barclay looked out the window, "Ah, you are so kidding me!"

"We're flying! It's flying!" Nathan laughed.

"He's flying the bus!" Lou breathed.

"It's a miracle!" Angela blinked, a bright smile on her face.

"Anti-gravity clamps. Didn't I say? Round we go," the Doctor cheered as he turned the bus and faced the the wormhole.

Carmen looked back the window to the swarm, "Doctor! They're coming!"

"Do you think this thing will survive the journey back?" Christina quietly asked the pair.

"Only one way to find out!" the Doctor shrugged, "Next stop..."

"Everywhere!" Minerva cheered, "Though it would be nice to stop by Earth first..."

Everyone held on tight as the Doctor propelled the bus through the wormhole, yelling as it did.

There was a flash of light before the wormhole became visible to the soldiers on the other side on Earth and suddenly the bus came through, flying over everyone.

"It's London!" Barclay looked out the window to see the dark night of London, England.

"We're back home!" Angela cheered.

"He did it! He did it!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Malcolm! Close that wormhole!" the Doctor ordered through the phone that Minerva held to his ear.

"Yes, sir! My pleasure, sir!"

The Doctor blinked, "He's hung up on me!"

Minerva smirked, "You had that one coming."

~ 0 ~

Malcolm pressed a button on his keyboard, "Yes!" but the electronics sparked and away went his excitement, "Oh, no, no! No!" a small fire sprouted which he quickly put out with a fire extinguisher.

He heard the phone ringing and so picked up only to say, "Not now, I'm busy!" he set the phone down.

~ 0 ~

"He's hung up again!" the Doctor cried and so Minerva went ahead and redialed, "Malcolm! Listen to me!" the Doctor exclaimed once Malcolm had picked up again.

"It's not working!" Malcolm said.

"I need that signal. We've got billions of those things about to fly through!"

"Well, what do I do?"

"Loop it back through the integrator, and keep the signal ramping up."

"But by how much?"

"500 Bernards! Do it now!"

~ 0 ~

Malcolm made the adjustments on the computer, excitement back on when he saw it working, "Yes!"

~ 0 ~

Outside, the wormhole sealed up and left only the three manta creatures on Earth. Unfortunately, for the first couple of minutes it would seem that the soldiers' bullets didn't harm the creatures.

"Doctor, it's coming for us!" Nathan pointed at an oncoming creature heading for the open window of the bus.

"Oh, no, you don't!" the Doctor swerved the bus and batted the creature away.

Finally, the creatures were taken down by the soldiers and everything was left to pure excitement and cheers inside the bus.

"Back home," Minerva sighed in content and looked down at the Doctor, "Knew you could do it."

"Technically we did it together," he took one of her hands and kissed the back of it, making her smile.

~ 0 ~

Once the bus landed, everyone gathered their belongings and as the Doctor soniced the door open, they filed out with a soldier giving instructions for them.

"Welcome back. If you could step away from the bus to be safe. As fast as you can. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you, and then you'll all be taken to debriefing."

Minerva tensed as she remembered just what sort of institution was guarding the perimeters. The Doctor stood and took out his psychic paper, "We don't count," he flashed it to the soldier and stepped out with his wife.

Christina made to follow the pair, "No, but, Doctor..." but the soldier took her by the arm.

"With me, ma'am," he took her away.

"Doctor!" Malcolm exclaimed as he saw the pair heading towards Erisa.

"You must be Malcolm!" the Doctor stopped and surprisingly found himself in a hug.

"Oh! Oh, I love you,"Malcolm pulled away, "I love you, I love you."

Minerva had to chuckle, not so much afraid of this man, "Not as much as me though," she warned, "Cos that's my job."

"To your station, Doctor Taylor," Erisa joined them.

"Yes, ma'am," Malcolm headed back to the lab but turned and pointed to the Doctor, "I love you!" the Doctor simply pointed back with a smile and Malcolm went on.

"Doctor," Erisa saluted, "I salute you, whether you like it or not. Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"They'll start again. Generate a new doorway. It's not their fault, it's their natural life cycle. But I'll see if I can nudge the wormholes on to uninhabited planets," the Doctor said, feeling Minerva silently and discreetly move a bit more behind him, "Closer to home, Captain, those two lads," he nodded to Barclay and Nathan, " Very good in a crisis. Nathan needs a job, Barclay's good with engines. You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay, UNIT's finest."

"I'll see what I can do..." Erisa noticed the woman practically hidden behind the Doctor, "...I take it that's your wife? Also known as our formerly investigated case in San Diego, 2009."

Minerva, seeing no other point of hiding, moved back to the Doctor's side, gripping his hand like she was holding onto dear life, "...hello..." she greeted with a shaky voice.

"Ma'am," Erisa nodded.

"Captain I'm going to be frank here, my wife's terrified of UNIT because of the investigation over her last year. Can you please tell her that it's alright now? Because it _is_ alright now, right?" the Doctor gave the woman a sharp look, practically daring her to say something else, "There are no current investigations of her and her human family... _right_?"

Erisa caught the question - warning - and nodded, "Quite right, Doctor. Miss Souza there no investigations over you anymore," she informed the brunette, "Though we will need to create a new profile for you."

"Why?" Minerva breathed and stepped back.

"Just to have a record of you like the Doctor."

"But why? I haven't done anything bad, I swear. I'm good."

The Doctor chuckled, "It's just to have something to follow by for protocols," he took her hand in his up to his lips for a kiss.

"Protocols? What for?"

"Employees," Erisa explained but garnered confusion from Minerva.

"Employee?" she blinked, "But I don't...I don't work here..."

"Now you do," Erisa nodded.

"So...UNIT doesn't want to like...poke me or anything?"

Erisa had to laugh, "Not really."

"Oh, okay," Minerva breathed a sigh of relief then looked at the Doctor with a dim smile, "I'm working for UNIT..."

"Want to be my partner?" he raised an eyebrow, sharing a smirk with her.

"That sounds nice," she laughed.

"And as a peace gift, we've got something for you and your husband, ma'am," Erisa cut into the moment and gestured behind them where a tarp dropped to reveal the TARDIS.

"The box of wonders!" Minerva cheered, running over to the dear box, "Better than any sort of transportation!"

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Erisa explained as she and the Doctor joined the brunette.

"Oh, she doesn't mind," the Doctor waved it off.

"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?"

"Not really, but could you please send over the Tritovores to us? We're supposed to bring them to a nice planet for them."

"Of course," Erisa nodded, "Till we meet again, Doctor, ma'am," she called to Minerva.

Minerva turned around with a half-smile, "Minerva," she corrected for future references.

The Doctor walked up to Minerva and took her into a hug, "See? I told you everything would be fine with UNIT. You had nothing to be afraid of."

"I know it was petty but it was a real fear for me," she sighed, resting her head on his chest, "I didn't want them questioning my family here, or even my friends."

Christina, who was being monitored with a Geiger counter saw the pair near that blue box of theirs and swatted the soldier, "That's quite enough of that!" she ran towards the pair

The detective, McMillan, spotted her and went after, "She is not getting away this time."

"Little blue box! Just like you said!" Christina looked at the TARDIS with excitement, "Right then, off we go! Come on, Doctor, cousin," she eyed Minerva, "Show me the stars!"

"No," Minerva sadly smiled.

"What?"

"No," Minerva repeated, looking at the Doctor to see if he was thinking the same.

"But I helped you," Christina reminded, "I helped both of you."

"So?" the Doctor asked.

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to _prison._ "

"Yeah."

"But you were right, it's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you... I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. Why not take me with you?"

"People have traveled with us and we've lost them. Lost them all. Never again," the Doctor replied, "And my wife needs a lot of help right now. She is my main priority and I make no trips that interfere with her assistance."

McMillan arrived with policemen, "Lady Christina de Souza! Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft," Minerva watched with sadness as she saw Christina handcuffed, " You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away."

As Christina was taken away, Carmen and Lou walked over to the pair.

"Doctor? You take care, now," Carmen warned.

The Doctor smiled, missing the warning, "You too! Chops and gravy, lovely! What do you think we'll have for tonight, dear?" he looked at Minerva.

"No, but you be careful. Because your song is ending, sir," Carmen reiterated her warning with further explanation.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, his smile gone.

"It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor... Oh, but then... He will knock four times."

As the humans parted, the Doctor and Minerva shared a concerned glance. The last time they heard about a song, well...a certain human song ended (Minerva) and a certain hybrid song began...Minerva. But this time, this time the song was _his_...

Thankfully, the two Tritovores arrived as requested, distracting them from the dark moment.

"Oh, please come in," Minerva opened the TARDIS doors for them, "We'll be taking you home right now! Any requests?" she called as the two went inside.

The Tritovores chirruped from inside and the Doctor poked his head inside, frowning, "For the last time, she is staying with _me_!" he closed the doors and faced his wife who giggled, "What?"

"You're so ridiculous," she turned away to see Christina being led to a police car. Suddenly, she reached for the Doctor's screwdriver and pointed to her 'cousin''s handcuffs, unlocking them, "My cousin will not go to jail."

Christina noticed the unlocked handcuffs but remained silent as she was placed in the backseat of the car. As soon as the door was closed, she scooted to the other side and bolted out of the car, heading for the bus as the McMilan and another officer chased her.

"No! Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!"

Minerva handed the Doctor back his screwdriver and hurried up to the bus with him.

"Open the door! I'll add resisting arrest!" McMillan pounded on the bus doors.

"I'd step back, if I were you," the Doctor warned him.

"I'm charging you too! Aiding and abetting!" McMillan warned the two.

"Yes, we'll just step inside this police box and arrest our selves," Minerva sweetly smiled and took the Doctor's hand as the two returned to the TARDIS.

Christina waved to the detective and started the bus. McMillan watched helplessly as the bus lifted off the ground, "No! Come back!"

The rest of the passengers laughed at the getaway. The pair stopped in front of the TARDIS doors where Christina hovered and opened the doors to call out, "We could've been so good together, cousin," she smiled.

"Sorry cousin, but I've got a kingdom to uplift and a husband to deal with," Minerva playfully shrugged.

Christina laughed while the Doctor mock-glared at the two. The bus flew off into the sky while the other passengers cheered away.

"Time to go home," the Doctor whispered to Minerva while taking her hand.

"Yes, please," she agreed and allowed him to take them back to the TARDIS to finish their last task before they could end their long day.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Ello! And so begins round 1 of 3 updates for the week. I decided to update 3 times this week and finish off with a bang for the year lol Thank you to those who responded to the question! Story should be finished on Friday ;)

 _For Reviews:_

Yes! I loved writing the Doctor like that! He was too cute! Yeah, Maya is just not happy with that marriage. That'll come into play for the next story where we'll explore the Monsoon more closely :). Thank you for advising me! And Merry Christmas/New Years to you too!

I wiiiiill lol Yeah, I'm not that big of a fan of Mayar and the human mother .

Yup! You can definitely expect 3 updates this week ;)

Really? So are you like...a ghost? Are you reading from beyond? lmao sorry . I try to be funny...the Mickey and Martha teasing does not stop I'm afraid. But there will come one moment where Minerva and the Doctor get their revenge on them lol. Yeah, Face the Raven was pretty good. I think if an actress can make you cry over a character you dislike then she has mad skills *bows to Jenna*. Although I'm actually pretty confused on the ending of Clara (that hybrid stuff). Like, what was that anyways? River, River? That story is kinda twisted and sad but hey, you'll see soon enough. And Clara? Ooh, I'm actually starting on her arc now. I've written the first one (Oswin Oswald ep.) and I'm about 1 episode away from starting with Clara O. Oswald. I personally love her arc now that I'm writing it lmao ^.^ hope you will too!

So, there will be another update on Wednesday! Hooray! :)


	25. Waters of Mars

"You owe me _big_ time," Minerva smirked at the Doctor as the two stared at the new Mr. & Mrs. _Smith_ danced together on a dance floor, as their first _husband and wife_ dance.

"Me? I don't recall betting," the Doctor mumbled to the side.

"I called it, I called it," she turned his head to look at her, "Now you gotta pay up."

"Minerva, you are lying and we know it."

"Doctor, your lies are becoming a sickness," Minerva wagged a finger at him as she stood up.

"You can call me whatever you like as long as you stay standing..." he breathed as his eyes trailed her up and down and down and up.

She blushed and reached down for his hands to pull him up, "C'mon, let's go congratulate my two best friends."

"And you're gonna stay standing?"

She chuckled, "Sure."

Martha Jones, now Smith, had Minerva as her maid of honor in a dark blue & silver, strapless dress. It was high-low with the ends curving in an upside down V. Her hair was left down in her curls with her usual silver necklace fastened around her neck.

"You mean it, right?" the Doctor continuously asked her as they headed for the married couple who had quit dancing.

" _I_ don't lie, Martian," she put a hand on her chest.

"I'm holding you to that!"

"Hey, let's just go and make fun of Martha and Mickey now, yeah?" she smirked, "They owe us from our wedding, remember?"

"Oh yes!" the two interlocked hands and marched over to the Smith's.

"Oh Maaartha..." Minerva flashed a cheeky smile.

"Oh no," Mickey breathed, "She's got that look..."

"What look?" Minerva looked at him, playing innocent.

"That look," Martha pointed, "What are you two up to?"

"Us? Why nothing," the Doctor glanced at Minerva, "Are you up to anything, dear?"

"Nope, are you?"

"Not at all."

"Well actually, I do have one thing I'm up to," Minerva admitted in a nod, "See, I was thinking of when I'd be a godmother..." she looked at Martha, her small smirk already beginning, "...any ideas of when that'll happen, Martha?"

Martha blushed and looked to the side, "Go away, Minerva."

"And be sure to name her Elizabeth, okay?"

"Minerva!"

"Mickey? What do you think she'd be named?" Minerva looked at her other best friend who also had his gaze on the side, "Because I'm sure it'd be a girl too."

"Minerva, it's our wedding," Mickey reminded urgently.

"Always good to think about these things. Cos next thing we know we might have news of a little baby Smith in a couple of months."

Both best friends looked at the brunette with mock-glares, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Martha raised an eyebrow.

"Elizabeth Martha Smith," Minerva nodded with a big smile, "Oh yes, I love it. Thank you for having us," she went up and hugged each best friend of hers. Satisfied, Minerva walked away from the trio with a smirk.

The Doctor remained at his place with a dazed smile as he watched after his wife, "God I love that woman," he breathed.

Meanwhile, Martha and Mickey were shooting him glares, "Get out of here," they pushed him away.

The Doctor waved them off, not even realizing he'd been pushed as he followed in the direction Minerva had gone off to.

"You know, I remembered Minerva _not_ making fun of people," Mickey told Martha with a huff.

"Yeah well that was pre-Minerva without the Doctor. You didn't see her during my time."

"We'll get 'em back, you'll see," he took Martha's hand, nodding with certainty.

"Yeah? And how?"

"One day, they'll pop out a little alien baby and we'll be there," Mickey declared, Martha laughing at the thought, "Oh yes, we'll be there. And we'll give them a hell of a tease."

"Mr. Smith I love how you think," Martha smirked.

"Mrs. Smith I love that you love how I think."

The two laughed and returned back to the dance-floor to have another dance, coming up with even more teasing for their best friend and husband.

~ 0 ~

"You were very teasing, you know?" the Doctor pinned Minerva against the console, his hands on her waist.

"They owed me big time," she reminded, her hands on his shoulders, acting as if she hadn't done anything wrong, "Were you disappointed?"

"Not one bit," he shook his head then started kissing her.

"Mm, you have some trailing hands there, dear husband," Minerva had pulled back to comment, her skin breaking into goosebumps as she felt his fingers' touch.

"And you have trailing lips," he countered.

"I thought we agreed we'd go somewhere after the wedding, somewhere to help me and my powers," she reminded, her breath hitching when his hands gripped her hips.

"And we will," he nodded, brushing his lips over hers, "But first I'd like for us to go somewhere in here..." he looked around the room.

"Where to?"

He smirked, "Oh, I think we know where," he declared before resuming their kissing, his hands entangling in her hair while hers moved around his neck.

~ 0 ~

"Oh you are _definitely_ being good today, Martian," Minerva remarked as the two walked along, slowly, a red near-like desert.

"I thought after so much time of my little...nickname," he made a face, making her chuckle, "It would be fitting to show you the _actual_ planet."

"Mars," Minerva breathed, "I can't believe this is actually real..."

"Plus, I figured perhaps meeting another water species could help you."

Minerva sighed, "I hope."

Minerva was still working hard to progress her Moontsay abilities but had only made slight progress...she could move water for about five minutes and no more. She was beginning to get frustrated because it had been long now since she regenerated and to come up with no progress was, well...worrisome. There _was_ a possibility that she may have actually _lost_ her powers for good but she decided not to think of that until there was truly nothing else she could do to induce them. She practiced with Zohar for long hours, even went with Donna to get some pointers as humans. The Doctor had suggested she'd try visiting other water species and recalled some of the warriors of Mars...before they went all war-like crazy where some could actually move about water and snow. Perhaps getting pointers from another species could benefit her as well.

The two wore orange spacesuits with proper helmets and everything, both walking together towards a small cliff. They stopped at a ledge and looked out, both smiling, "Ohh, beautiful," the Doctor remarked then glanced at Minerva, "Though not compared to you my dear."

She blushed and looked ahead, beaming at the base they were seeing. It had a large center dome with six corridors radiating out from it. There were five of them that connected to smaller domes and one with a rocket.

"Oh..." she suddenly stiffened as she felt something press on her back, "...Doctor," she gasped lightly.

"Rotate, slowly," a robotic voice ordered before the Martian could even look, "Hands up and turned around slowly to a see a robot holding a gun aimed.

"Yeah, not on my wife you don't," the Doctor snapped as he moved in front of Minerva.

~ 0 ~

The two aliens found themselves inside the base, a blonde woman holding a gun at them much like the little robot had done, "State your name, rank, and intention," she ordered.

The Doctor decided to answer first, seeing Minerva a bit nervous, "The Doctor. Doctor. Fun."

"You?" the woman cocked the gun at Minerva.

"Um...Minerva..." she struggled coming up with the second, "... _princess_? Oh, and fun."

A man opened the door to the main section and peered down, "What the hell!?" he rushed down the steps, "It's a man and a woman! A man and a woman on _Mars_ ," he stood beside the blonde holding the gun, "How?"

A German woman holding one of the pair's spacesuits came over, equally shocked, "They were wearing these things. I have never seen anything like them."

"What did Mission Control say?" the man asked the two women.

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares," the German woman answered.

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the blonde cut them off.

The Doctor, now in front of Minerva once again, "Actually, chat's second on my list, the first being gun, pointed at my head...and consequently my wife's head. I don't like them anywhere near her, nor me actually. You could hurt someone with that, just... put it down," he motioned with his hands.

"Oh, you'd like that," the blonde muttered.

"Can you find me someone who wouldn't?"

"Why should I trust either of you?"

"Because, and for the record," Minerva poked her head from behind the Doctor, "If we wanted to try anything we would've probably killed you all by now and you're cute little robot...which we haven't. Plus you're about 40 million miles away from home, so our word is all you've got."

The woman lowered the gun, "Keep Gadget covering them."

A young man stood next to the robot and nodded. He wore gloves which gave him control of the robot, Gadget, "Gadget-gadget!" the little robot said.

"Oh, right, so you control that thing?" the Doctor eyed the robot beside them, "Auto-glove response?"

"You got it," the man nodded and demonstrated, "To the right..."

Gadget moved to the right, "Gadget-gadget!"

"And to the left," the man said before the robot did the same.

"It's a bit flimsy," the Doctor remarked, earning a glare from the man.

"Don't be rude," Minerva elbowed him lightly, "Question," she raised a finger to the man, "Why does it keep repeating its name? That's a bit annoying."

"And _I'm_ rude?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her.

" _You've_ rubbed off on me," she rolled her eyes.

"Mm, that I have," he smirked and kissed her temple.

"Shush!" she batted him away, sporting a very red blush on her face.

~ 0 ~

A man, Ed, was busy trying to figure out just who exactly the pair were and their reason for being on the base, "They can't be a World State flight, we'd know about it. Therefore, they've got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

"Right, yes, OK, you got us," the Doctor nodded, Minerva quickly doing the same, "So I'm the Doctor, this is my wife, Minerva, and you are?"

The blonde woman scoffed, "Oh, come on. We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on Planet Earth knows who we are."

"Oh, wait!" Minerva exclaimed, "I remember that one," she pointed at the Doctor with an excited grin, "Oh I know! This is Bowie Base One!"

The blonde woman eyed her oddly as she nodded, "Yes..."

The Doctor, less than enthusiastic about the location, looked at the blonde, "Number one? Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater...You've been here how long?"

"17 months."

"2059. It's 2059, right now. OHH! My head is so stupid, you're Captain Adelaide Brooke! And Ed! You're Deputy Edward Gold. Tarak Ital, MD. Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett," he paused at Mia, "You're only 27 years old."

"As I said, Doctor, everyone knows our names," Adelaide reminded.

"And they'll never forget them," Minerva softly said, a small smile on her face.

"What's the date, today? What is it? Tell me the exact date," the Doctor ordered.

"November 21st, 2059."

The Doctor swallowed, nearly all his breath sucked out, "Right. OK, fine."

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi questioned.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia stepped forwards.

"We need to go," Minerva looked up at the Doctor, the fear etched on her face already.

He nodded, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry with all of my hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when I've got no choice. It's been an honor," he shook hands with everyone there, "Seriously, a... very great honor to meet you all. The Martian pioneers. Oh, thank you. Ah!" he tapped Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

He saluted Adelaide, "Thank you," but he stopped, " There's the other two. Hold on... Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

Ed walked over to one of the computers and spoke, "Maggie... if you want to meet the only new humans being that you're gonna see in the next five years, better come take a look."

But instead a loud snarling came over the tannoy.

"What was that?" Mia frowned.

"Doctor, we should go," Minerva tugged on his sleeve, "I remember the lesson and I want to go," he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her head, also remembering that sad lesson.

"This is Central. Bio-dome report immediately," Ed spoke again into the tannoy.

Adelaide moved beside Ed at the monitor, "Show me the Bio-dome."

Ed did as told and brought up the security footage but only static appeared on the monitor, "Internal cameras are down."

"Show me the exterior," she ordered again and saw that the lights in the bio-dome had gone out, "I'm going over. You two," she pointed at the pair, "With me."

"We can't," Minerva tensed, "We really can't..."

"We're sorry, erm...we'd love to help but we we're leaving, right now," the Doctor agreed.

Adelaide raised an eyebrow then looked over to Steffi, "Take their spacesuits, lock it up. This started as soon as you two arrived, so you're not going anywhere, except with me."

Minerva frowned, not at all content she was being forced to stay in a place she didn't want to.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Minerva, Adelaide and Tarak walked along a dark corridor with only their torches and intermittent lights on the wall giving small light to guide the way.

"What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide looked at the Doctor with suspicion, "You said she's only 27, why does it matter, what did you mean?"

"Oh, I just... open my mouth and words come out," the Doctor offered a small smile, "They don't make much sense."

"You're telling me," Tarak mumbled.

"Thank you, doctor," the alien said, shooting a small glance.

"Any time, Doctor."

"Gadget-gadget!" went the small robot.

"I hate robots. Did I say?" the Doctor warily eyed the thing.

"Yeah, and he's not too fond of you," Roman's voice emerged from the robot, "What's wrong with robots?"

"It's not your fault or anything," Minerva cut in, giving a small scolding look at the Doctor, "He's not trying to be rude. He disagrees with the people that dress the robots up and give them silly voices. It's a bit demeaning, actually."

"Yeah. Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog," Roman conceded on the fact.

"Ah, well, dogs, that's different," the Doctor shrugged.

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones. Those things are huge! They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of..."

"The channel is open for essential communications only," Adelaide reminded.

"Sorry. Love those drones."

"Wow, rude is a big thing here," Minerva quietly remarked.

"I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide," the Doctor said, "But one thing they never said, was it worth it? The mission?"

"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," the woman declared.

"I know… But all of it. Cos they say you sacrificed everything, devoted your whole life to get here."

"Well when there's a spark of hope, no matter how risky it is, if there's something good waiting in the end...we're prone to do it," Minerva faintly smiling, "Some would even change their biological code...just some..." she took his hand and gripped it.

"Right... _plus_..." Adelaide eyed the two, misunderstanding the little implication, "It's been chaos back home. 40 long years, the climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. And to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight, yes. It's worth it."

"Ahh! That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet," the Doctor exclaimed, "The woman with starlight in her soul. Love a woman like that," he looked at Minerva with a soft smile.

Adelaide stopped when she saw a body laying on the floor up ahead, "What on earth...?" quickly, the group rushed forwards and Adelaide gasped, "It's Maggie."

"Don't touch her!" the Doctor quickly ordered.

"I know the procedure," Tarak waved him off, "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie?" he rolled the woman over, "It's OK. She's still breathing. She's alive," the Doctor looked down towards the bio-dome with a bit of ware, "Yuri, I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack," Tarak spoke into his radio.

~ 0 ~

Ed and Yuri arrived with the medpack and backboard a couple minutes after being called for. The others awaited by Maggie who still remained unconscious.

"Don't touch her, use the gloves," the Doctor instructed as the two reached them.

"Do what he says. Get her to sickbay. Put her in isolation," Tarak added.

"We're going to the Bio-dome," Adelaide said then started giving her orders, "Tarak, with me, Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area."

"Gadget-gadget!"

"Captain, you're gonna need me. Andy's the only other crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild," Ed stepped forwards.

"You've deserted your post. Consider that an official warning," Adelaide countered coldly, "Now, get back to work. Doctor!" she headed off with the alien pair behind her.

~ 0 ~

Mia and Steffi analyzed the snarling they had heard earlier and gasped at the results the monitors gave them. Steffi used her radio to speak over to Adelaide, "Captain. That sound we heard from the Bio-dome, I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's...it's Andy. It registers as the voice-print of Andy Stone."

~ 0 ~

"Understood. Double-check, thanks," Adelaide nodded.

"Air pressure stabilized," Tarak said as the airlock door opened up.

The four cautiously stepped inside the dome, Adelaide just slightly in front, "Andrew? Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?"

Meanwhile, the Doctor checked one of the computers with his screwdriver and made the lights come back on, "There you go."

"What's that device?" Adelaide immediately looked over and eyed the small stick he held.

"Screwdriver."

"Are you the Doctor or the Janitor?"

Minerva snickered, "You know, I can see him being that other one. He's like maintenance man of the universe."

"Yeah well you can be the Princess," he flashed a cheeky smile, "Or the Queen."

"Mm, may be a formal title but I don't plan on using it," she waved him off as she looked around.

"Maybe some time later a mini-you may use it..."

She stiffened then blushed, "Oh stop that,"she looked at him with an embarrassed smile. Was he actually making those types of comments in front of other people!?

"You two, quit the talking, stay with me, don't step out of my sight," Adelaide had cut into their moment then looked at Tarak, "Tarak, go to External Door South, make sure it's intact."

"Yes, ma'am," Tarak nodded and headed off.

"Quite an achievement. First flower on Mars in 10,000 years," Minerva looked at the plants, "It's really pretty by the way. Oh! And you're growing veg!"

"It's that lot, they're already planning Christmas dinner," Adelaide gave a small smile, "Last year it was dehydrated protein, this year they want the real thing."

"Still, fair enough. Christmas," the Doctor moved closer to Minerva.

"If we must," Adelaide shrugged.

"Oh, you've even got birds!" Minerva gasped lightly as she heard the little critters chirping about, "This is just amazing!"

"It's part of the project, to keep the insect population down."

"Good sign," the Doctor said.

"In what way?"

"Well, they're still _alive_."

"Captain? Good news," Yuri's voice emerged from Adelaide's radio, "It's Maggie. She's awake, she's back with us. Hey. How are you, soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"

"I was just working. Then I woke... woke up here," the trio heard Maggie responding.

"What about Andy? We can't find him. Was he all right?" Adelaide questioned.

"I don't know, I just..."

"If you remember anything, let me know straightaway."

~ 0 ~

Only a couple of minutes had passed by while the trio continued looking for the missing when Adelaide's radio played another voice, that of Yuri with high concern, "This is sickbay, we have a situation. Maggie's condition has... I don't know…I don't know what it is. It's water, just... pouring out."

"Yuri, calm down," Adelaide instructed, though she herself was a bit nervous and perplexed, "Just tell me what's happened to her."

"The skin is... sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding water, like she's drowning."

"Tarak, this area's unsafe, we're going back. Tarak? Tarak!"

"Where'd he go?" Minerva looked around.

Quickly, they ran across the floor in search of the missing man...

At one point, Adelaide had stopped and left the pair to run a bit ahead. When they realized she was behind, they turned and rushed back to see what she was looking at. They saw Tarak on his knees in convulsions as Andy had his hand on the man's head, water pouring down it.

"Andy, just leave him alone," the Doctor began, stepping forwards.

Adelaide raised her gun, "Step away from him."

Minerva remained in place as the other two stepped forwards, listening to their voices overlap.

"I can help. I promise, I can help. Just leave that man alone," the Doctor insisted.

"I order you to stop!" went Adelaide.

"Andy, I'm asking you, please just take your hand away from him and listen to me."

"Stop, or I'll shoot!"

Suddenly, a small rush of water sprang from behind them, hitting Andy enough to make him stop whatever he had been doing to Tarak.

"Emotions are a big factor in this whole power thing," Minerva breathed as she looked at her palm that let that water out.

Tarak looked at the trio and made them gasp as they saw he was now the same in appearance as Andy, chapped/broken skin around the mouth with water pouring down.

"We've got to go," the Doctor whispered to Adelaide as they both backed up, he taking Minerva's hand then quickly breaking into a run. Tarak and Andy chased them into the doors where the Doctor shut them, "Set the seals at maximum!"

Andy raised his arm and shot water at the door, making the Doctor jump back, startled. Andy lowered his arm and moved closer, looking at the trio through the window of the door before pounding.

"Captain, we need you back here," Steffi's voice came from Adelaide's radio.

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained," Adelaide spoke back, "Can you confirm, Ed?"

"Confirmed. She's locked in."

"Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets, don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

"Can you talk?" the Doctor wondered as he looked at Andy through the window, "Human beings are 60% water, which makes them the perfect host."

"What for?"

"We don't know and frankly _I'd_ rather not find out," Minerva shuddered a breath, "Humans are 60% water? Well I'm more than that, can you imagine what that thing would do to me?"

"It won't touch you," the Doctor turned to her immediately, his hands on either side of her face, "I swear. We're leaving, right now, we're leaving."

He was all for helping her progress with her education and powers but...not when there were spooky water creatures that could take over other bodies...nope.

Andy and Tarak slammed their hands on the door then opened their mouths to shoot water at the door's seals.

"This thing's airtight, yeah?" the Doctor looked at Adelaide.

"And therefore watertight."

"Mm, it depends on how clever that water is," Minerva swallowed, "Believe me."

The control panel started sparking and Adelaide gasped, "They're fusing the system."

"Abandon ship!"

~ 0 ~

Adelaide opened the door into the corridor and ran out with the pair behind her. Andy and Tarak chased them again with ease.

"Doctor, we haven't got the time!" Adelaide had looked back and saw the man stopping beside Gadget.

"They can run faster than us, we need a lift!" he used the screwdriver on the robot.

"Hey!" they heard Roman's cry from the robot, followed by the actual robot saying its name.

The Doctor messed with the wires of the robot until he finished, "Clever Girl, right here," he stood on the robot and promptly picked up his wife and set her in front of him, "Adelaide! Behind me!"

"That thing goes at two miles an hour!" the blonde shook her head.

"Not any more! Trust me."

Adelaide sighed and climbed behind the two.

"Gadget-gadget!" went the robot.

"Gadget-gadget!" the Doctor started up the robot and flames shot out from the exhaust, leaving a trail of flames behind as it went.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor had hopped off Gadget and moved to the door, Adelaide handling the control panel, "The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals. There's no way they can get in."

"Get inside!" the Doctor literally yanked Minerva inside the room.

"But Gadget!" she pointed back, "It's cute!"

"Come on, come on!" he called out to the robot as it made its way over.

"Gadget-gadget."

"I thought you hated robots!" Adelaide exclaimed.

"I do," he frowned, "But what my wife wants, she gets," he closed the door as soon as the robot had trundled inside.

"We're safe. It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in," Adelaide remarked when Tarak and Andy had come to the door.

"Water is patient, Adelaide," he looked at the woman, "Water just waits. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains, the whole of the world."

"Water always wins," Minerva remarked, looking at her palms.

"Come on!" he pulled her for the other door, Adelaide following.

Adelaide had her radio again and used it to contact the others, "Bio-dome Tunnel is out of bounds. Andy and Tarak are infected, repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if they make any move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome."

The trio strode along the tunnel, "Blimey, it's a distance. You could do with bikes in this place," the Doctor said.

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel," she informed passively.

"But very worth it, don't you think?" Minerva gestured to their current situation.

They entered the med-room where Ed watched Maggie, the woman contained in a small room with a window and door as barrier.

"Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" Adelaide asked.

"No, just basic," Ed replied.

"Then the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

"Pulse is low. Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

"Can she talk?"

"Don't know," Yuri spoke up, "She was before we noticed the change, but..."

Adelaide moved closer to the window, "Maggie? Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

But Maggie turned head to the Doctor, the man uttering words that no one understood, "Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn."

"What language is that?" Ed demanded.

"He's speaking Martian," Minerva replied, severely biting back the laughter she had sealed in her lips. This was not the place but then again she'd always made fun of him for this very reason...

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide shook her head.

"It's Ancient North...Martian," Minerva shuddered a breath as she tried keeping in her laughter.

"Someone's having a bit too much fun," the Doctor quietly murmured, ticking off his fingers.

"Let me have this," she rested a hand on his arm, "Please..."

"But it was like she recognized it," Ed looked back at Maggie, unaware of the little moment.

"And her eyes are different. They're clear, like she's closer to human," the Doctor pointed out.

"Not close enough for me..."

"Where do you get your water from?" the Doctor asked Adelaide.

"The ice field. That's why we chose the crater, we're on top of an underground glacier."

"Tons of water. Marvelous," Minerva breathed and looked at her palm.

"But every single drop is filtered. It's screened, it's safe," Yuri assured.

"Looks like it, yeah..."

Ed thought for a moment, "If something was frozen down there, a viral life form, held in the ice for all those years..."

Minerva looked at Maggie for a minute and walked towards the window, "Minerva," the Doctor tensed as he saw his wife nearing to the creature.

But Minerva stopped in front of the window, "Look at her mouth. All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it _creates_ water," she looked back at the Doctor, unperturbed of the creature, "Just like me."

The Doctor pulled her away from the window, "You don't convert ,you don't kill," he looked at the creature with a hard face, "Tell me what you want."

"She was looking at the screen, at Earth," Yuri spoke up, "She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

Ed pulled Adelaide to the side of the room and spoke quietly, "Captain, with me. I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading. That demands Action Procedure One."

Adelaide gave a small nod, "You think I don't know that?"

"I think you need reminding."

"Yeah."

"Well, at least I'm good for something."

"Now and again."

"That's almost a compliment. Things must be serious."

"Sorry, sorry, but..." the Doctor stepped forwards, their quiet talk not so quiet in reality, "Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?"

"We're going home," Adelaide coir med then spoke into her radio, "This is Captain Brooke. I'm declaring Action One, repeat to all crew members, this is Action One, with immediate effect. Evacuate the base. Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?

"It's a nine-month flight, it'll take three hours to load what we need."

"You've got 20 minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the Bio-dome Tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting.

"Keep an eye on them. And make that 20 minutes 15! Ed, line up the shuttle, go straight to ignition status."

"Doing it now," Ed nodded and left.

"But what about Maggie?" Yuri looked at the woman behind the window.

Adelaide was already packing from her part, "She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

The Doctor watched everything happening with a sorrowful look, wishing there was just something he could do to help them. But the fact was nothing _should_ be done because it was meant to happen, it _needed_ to happen.

Minerva looked between the Doctor and the rest of the crew with resignation. The first and foremost thing she'd learned after regenerating, from the Doctor, was that fixed points _always_ needed to happen...no matter what. Of course, she knew that for him, that wasn't a very easy thing to do. She knew his temptation and his need to save all those he could was far too big to control and sometimes he did have moments, like Pompeii, where he wished he could change it. As a human, she admitted, she would blatantly follow his instructions because he was the Time Lord, _he_ was the one who knew anything and everything of the universe and its laws...but things changed now. _She_ was the second-in-command, as she often joked, of the universe. Granted she wasn't very experienced seeing she'd only spent seventeen years out of her home planet, but she was learning and she was learning fast. She could remind the Doctor of what needed to be done and left alone. She could remind him that fixed points like this and its deaths were not his fault. She could be his rock this time, and she planned to be.

"Adelaide, there is a problem..." she began, but Adelaide was far too busy to pay attention.

"Yes, thank you, your spacesuits will be returned. And good luck to you."

Minerva looked at the Doctor and sighed, "Look, I'm part of water species too and I've been learning. Our element is clever, the creatures are clever. This thing, it didn't infect the birds or the insects in the Bio-dome, it chose the humans. You were chosen. And remember what we said: water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, no doubt, so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..."

Adelaide stopped her work and looked at the pair, "Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth..." the Doctor spoke up, "One drop, just one drop…"

"But we're only presuming infection. If we can find out how this thing got through, when it got through..." Adelaide looked over to Yuri, "Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice-field," she headed for the door.

"Doctor we need to go," Minerva whispered to him, taking his hand, "I'm sorry, but we really have to."

"I know, I know...but..." he stared after the direction Adelaide had gone off to.

"We can't stay, remember?"

"...Adelaide!" he called and ran after her.

Minerva took a long breath then followed her husband out...hoping things wouldn't get too bad.

~ 0 ~

The trio were looking down into the open space where the glacier was.

"They tell legends of Mars, from long ago of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow. The Ice Warriors," the Doctor sighed.

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide waved him off.

"But maybe they found something down there," Minerva spoke, eyeing the woman sharply, "And they used heir might and their wisdom to freeze it."

Adelaide headed for the computer and called for them, "We need to find any sort of change in the water process. We've got to date the infection."

The man quietly walked to the computer and tried getting it to work while Adelaide worked on another monitor.

"Access denied," the computer the Doctor was at declared.

"You don't look like cowards," Adelaide remarked as she looked between the pair, "But all you've wanted to do is leave. And you, Doctor, you know so much about us."

"Your famous," Minerva supplied as she moved closer to the Doctor.

"But it's you know more..."

"I've been brushing up on my history," Minerva shrugged and looked at the Doctor, making sure he looked at her when she spoke again, "And I've learned that moments like these, a moment like _this_ , are fixed. It's these tiny, precious moments that must always happen while everything else is in flux. Anything can happen, but these certain moments, they have to stand," she gave a half-smile then looked at Adelaide, "And this base, on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen."

"Which is what?" Adelaide sighed, irritated with the puzzle talk the brunette seemed to love giving as much as her husband.

"Doctor?" Minerva looked back at him, "Wanna take it?"

"I don't know..."

"Yes you do."

He stopped with the computer and stood straight, facing Adelaide, "I think...I think something wonderful happens, something that started 50 years ago...isn't that right?"

Adelaide blinked, "I've never told anyone that."

"You told your daughter. And maybe, one day, she tells the story to her daughter of the day the Earth was stolen and moved across the universe. And you..."

Adelaide felt chills on her skin as she remembered the day, "I saw the Daleks. We looked up, the sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me..."

* * *

 _Adelaide, as a small child wearing pajamas, was brought into her home's attic by her father. The man put his hands on her shoulders as they knelt, "Stay here! Don't move. I've got to go out. I'm gonna find your mother, but I'm coming back, I promise you. I'm coming back," he kissed her on her forehead then quickly left._

* * *

"I never saw him again," Adelaide whispered, "Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window. And there in the sky..." she recalled the Dalek hovering in front of her attic's window, "I saw it, Doctor. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then...it simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"But not for revenge," Minerva faintly smiled.

"What would be the point of that?"

The Doctor smiled as well, "That's what makes you remarkable. And that's how you create history."

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine it, Adelaide. If you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you. And then your granddaughter, you inspire her so that in 30 years, Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light-speed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere. With her children, and her children's children forging the way to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Water Snake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will fall in love with a Tandonian prince, and that's the start of a whole new species."

Minerva nodded, "But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From 50 years ago, to right here, today. Imagine."

"Who are you? Why are you telling me this?" Adelaide demanded, "Why tell me all this?"

"We're trying to console you," Minerva sighed.

But the computer beside them beeped and showed Andy's record on the screen. Adelaide quickly looked it over, "Andy Stone. He logged on yesterday."

The screen started playing the video of Andy in the Bio-dome, "Maintenance log, 21.20, November 2059. Number three water filter's bust. And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out."

Adelaide shut the video afterwards.

"A filter. One tiny little filter and then the flood," the Doctor said.

Adelaide smiled, "But that means the infection arrived today, and the water's only cycled out of the Bio-dome after a week. The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave!" she spoke into her radio, "Ed, we're clean! How are we doing?"

"Shuttle's active, stage one! I haven't got time to convey the protein packs. If you want food you're gonna have to carry it by hand. Start loading! Right now!"

With that, the trio ran back into the corridors, Adelaide even letting out a small chuckle, "You were right, Doctor."

"What about?" he glanced at her.

"Bikes!"

The two shared a laughed and continued on.

~ 0 ~

Adelaide handed back the Doctor's and Minerva's spacesuits while the rest of the crew in the back packed like crazy.

"Now get to your ship, Doctor," Adelaide said, "I'm saving my people, you save your wife and yourself. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."

But as Adelaide returned to aid her crew, the Doctor remained in place and watched everything happen, Minerva watching _him_ in sadness.

"Come on!" Yuri exclaimed.

"How many do we need?" Steffi called from another part of the room.

"Roman, what about you?" Adelaide glanced at the young man.

"Protein-packs 30 to 36," he pushed the packs into the container.

"Steffi, ditch the central containers. We don't need them," Adelaide instructed.

"Units 41, 42 and 43."

"Unit 41 is here," Mia called.

"I'll swap them around," Roman said.

"Doctor, we need to go," Minerva whispered to him, tugging his hand but the man could not find it in him to leave.

"Roman try to condense the oxygen membranes, we can lose ten pounds," Adelaide gave another order, "Faster! Come on! Ed, how's the fuel jets?"

"Cooling down in about 30 seconds," Ed replied through the radio.

Adelaide stiffened at a faint nose from above, "What the hell's that noise? Mia, you lot, shut up..." everyone became quiet and listened to the beeping noise.

"It's the module sensors," Ed explained, "Exterior as well. The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us."

"That means...they're on the roof?" Steffi looked up, followed by the rest of the crew.

"How did they get inside the Dome?" Roman frowned.

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed said.

"The shaft's open, they haven't got spacesuits," Mia reached for Yuri's hand.

"They breathe water."

"But they'd freeze," Steffi breathed.

"They've got that internal fission."

"Are we safe? They can't get through, can they?" Mia looked at the others as the ceiling creaked, "Can they?"

Water started coming through the ceiling...

"This place is airtight!" Roman exclaimed.

"Can it get through? Ed? Can it get through?" Steffi cried in frustration.

"I don't know! Water itself isn't motile, but it has some resistance," Ed shook his head.

"Everyone, listen to me! That's ten feet of steel-combination up there," Adelaide pointed up, "We need all the protein-packs or we'll starve. Now keep working!" she half-shouted and everyone quickly got back to work, "Roman, watch the ceiling! Ed, get to the shuttle, fire it up."

"I can carry more than this lot, Captain," he gestured to the objects he held at the moment.

"That's an order!"

"Captain," Ed gave a smile and walked off.

"Doctor..." Minerva took his hand and rendered him to come with her, she herself unable to see the rest of the crew in their... _final_ moments.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva, now wearing their spacesuits again, entered the airlock room where the Doctor tried opening the door from the panel beside, only to have the computer utter, "Access denied."

Confused, he tried again.

"Access denied."

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide's voice emerged from the com..

"I don't know."

"Yes you do," she snapped, recalling Minerva's words, "Now tell me."

"You should be with the others," Minerva spoke softly.

"Tell me!" the woman ordered, "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you two."

"Except you won't," the Doctor sighed, "You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't. I loved you for that. Imagine... Imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere, I don't know, Pompeii. Imagine you were in Pompeii."

"What the hell's that got to do with it?"

"And you tried to save them, but, in doing so, you _make_ it happen. Anything I do just makes it happen."

"Not your fault," Minerva whispered to him, but he ignored her.

Of course it was his fault, no matter how bad she tried to sugar-coat it. It was true. It was always true. _He_ made things happen, he made the bad things _always_ happen...even when he was only trying to save them.

"I'm still here," Adelaide reminded upon the silence given.

"You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is...?"

"...detonation."

"The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the 21st November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No-one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy, because you die, on Mars. You die, today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"... I don't die," Adelaide softly said, "I will not."

"But it's your death that creates the future," Minerva bit her lip, her eyes already watering up.

"Help me. Why won't you help if you know all of this? Why can't you change it?"

"I can't," the Doctor swallowed, replaying those words in his mind over and over because he really...couldn't.

"Why can't you find a way? Tell me."

"Adelaide, I swear, I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't. Sometimes I can, sometimes I do. Most times, I can save someone. Or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed, in time, for ever. And that's right."

"You'll die here too," Adelaide declared, "You and your wife, you'll both die here."

"No," he said, not even perturbed by the small threat to his Clever Girl: it was an empty threat.

"What's gonna save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke."

After a moment of silence, the pair heard a clicking sound in the room and the door begin to open, "Damn you," Adelaide muttered.

~ 0 ~

"Water! We've got water!" Roman shouted as the water streaked down the walls.

"Captain! Get back! Get back! Captain!" Mia called then yanked Roman back, "Don't touch it, Roman! Don't let it touch you!"

"Get back! We're abandoning this section," Adelaide ordered, "Get to the shuttle! Yuri, lead the way, Section B Corridor, now," Yuri opened up a door where the had stored nearly everything but saw water pouring through, 'Close it!" Adelaide gave the shout.

Yuri quickly closed the door and turned to the others, Steffi breathing in heavily, "Yuri, did that water touch you?"

"I'm safe."

"Did it touch you? Yuri, did that water touch you?"

"I'm clean, I'm dry," he promised.

Adelaide just looked around, recalling the Doctor's words...water could wait...

~ 0 ~

Outside, the Doctor and Minerva could listen to everything the crew was saying...only serving it harder for the Doctor to keep going.

~ 0 ~

"Everyone, Section B is out. Listen to me! Take every pack that you can. We'll go round. We'll make our way out through Section F," Adelaide pointed while the others gathered the rest of the packs.

"Transferring authorization, Section F. Mia you take the redline stock! And hurry up!" Steffi said, the others heading for the opposite door in the room. As she moved to step them, water rushed down from the ceiling, blocking her way off.

"Steffi go!" Yuri called.

"Steffi, get back!" Mia motioned.

"Get back!"

"Steffi, keep back!"

"Get back!"

"Steffi!"

"Just get back! Steffi!"

"Get back!"

"Just get back! Hurry!"

Steffi looked around in horror as the water poured down, barely listening to everyone's overlapping voices as she backed up to the enclosed communications center.

"Just shut the door! Close the door!" Roman called.

Steffi quickly closed the door of the small room.

"Steffi, we'll come get you, OK? We'll come get you! Steffi!" Adelaide assured as the woman looked around.

"Captain!"

"We'll open the access panel. We'll get you out through the back," Adelaide looked at the others, "Get her out! Move it!"

Steffi screamed as the water started coming down inside the room, 'Captain, it's inside!" she backed away from the door.

"Steffi!"

"Steffi, get back! Steffi!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor & Minerva were several feet away from the base and looked back, hearing everything...

"We're coming! Steffi, hold on!" Adelaide was saying.

"The access panel's fused, Captain. We can't open it," Roman informed.

"We can't get through!" Yuri added.

"Don't! Don't, please!" Steffi pleaded.

"There's nothing we can do," Yuri sighed.

"I can't move!"

With everything they had inside, the alien pair started walking away.

~ 0 ~

Steffi was pressed against the wall and pushed a button on the monitor beside her that played a video of her daughters on the screen.

"Hallo, Mutti. Hallo, Mars!" one of the little girls turned to the other, "Sag hallo. Ich fragte warum nicht. Wir koennen doch mit dem Zug..."

Steffi turned to the monitor and sobbed, uncaring when the water splat on her back.

"Steffi, can you hear me?" Adelaide called, seeing the woman shaking as the transformation took in place.

"Oh my god..." Mia breathed.

With nothing else to do, Adelaide tore her gaze away from one more of her crew members, "Out! Get out!" she managed one last look at Steffi, the woman now transformed and trying to walk towards them through the door, "Ed, we're going round the long way, how are we doing?" she spoke into her radio as she rushed out.

"All systems online, 100%. Not a single delay! Don't you worry, Captain, we are gonna fly!"

"I need air in Section F right now."

"Locking chamber three. Locking chamber four," Yuri's voice emerged through the radio.

"Keep looking!" Adelaide ordered.

"Gate five is open! Gate six is open!" Roman added.

~ 0 ~

Roman looked around the room to make sure they had everything they needed, "Quickly, come on!" Yuri called.

"I've got 25 to 30 lockdown," Mia added.

Roman looked up at the ceiling just as a single drop of water fell...onto his cheek.

"Roman, come on, with me," he heard Adelaide call.

"You'd better go," he swallowed.

"Don't just stand there, move!"

"You'd really better go without me. I'm sorry, Captain. One drop," he turned to face the woman, showing her the single drop on his face. He immediately started shaking...

"Roman! Roman!" Mia cried.

Yuri took her by the waist and pulled her, "Leave him, come on."

"We can't just leave him!"

"Sorry. Come on."

"Let me go!"

"I can't let you go."

"Roman!" she sobbed as Yuri took her out of the room, Adelaide somberly following them.

~ 0 ~

Ed gasped as the doors of the shuttle opened with Maggie on the other side. She aimed her hand at the cockpit and shot through, Ed being too slow in closing the door, and splattered him with water. He groaned as he felt the change beginning.

~ 0 ~

"Captain. The shuttle is down," Adelaide heard through her radio.

She stopped, "What the hell do you mean?"

"Compromised. It was Maggie."

"Get out of there!"

~ 0 ~

"Too late. They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice," he started pressing a couple buttons around him, groaning, "Hated it, Adelaide. This bloody job. Ohhhh! You never gave me a chance," he reached out with his hand, "You never could forgive me," his eyes changed to that of the creature, "See you later," he pressed the self-destruct of the shuttle and exploded...

~ 0 ~

With the explosion rocking the base, the Doctor and Minerva were sent flying to the ground with a hard thud. They stood back up and looked back at the destruction behind them, no words capable of getting out from either mouth of theirs.

~ 0 ~

The remaining crew fell to the floor with their arms over their heads from the falling debris. As the air began escaping, they were pulled towards the hole.

"We're losing oxygen! The hull is broken!" Yuri cried.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor heard the last words before remembering some words...very important words...

 _"I'm not just a Time Lord, I'm the Last of the Time Lords. It'll never come back, not now. I've got a TARDIS. Same old life, last of the Time Lords. And they died, took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed, gone forever. 'The Time Lords kept their eye on everything. And it's gone now. But they died, the Time Lords! All of them, they died! I'm the last of the Time Lords."_

With grim determination, he started heading back to the base.

"Wh-where are you going?" Minerva reached out for him, "What are you doing?"

"We can save them," he nodded, looking back at her.

Startled, and admittedly worried of the new look in his eyes, she let go, "No we can't. You told me, remember? You told me, you made me learn that. You can't...we can't..."

"New lesson," he swallowed hard, "I'm the last of the Time Lords, I'm the overseer..."

"Yes, and I'm a princess of a kingdom, _so_?" she shook her head.

"I've let so many people die because of rules...rules that _I'm_ in control of now."

"Doctor, we can't..." she swallowed, "...I can't go back there, water..." she reminded.

"Go to the TARDIS and bring her to the base," he turned her for the direction of the blue box, "C'mon, dear. We can do this."

With that, he started making his way back to the base. Minerva trembled as she continued her pathway, seeing all the wrong ways this was heading for.

~ 0 ~

Yuri, Mia and Adelaide held onto anything possible that would keep them from being sucked out into the planet when the Doctor appeared, taking charge of the situation, "Mia, take this sealant, fix that rig!" he tossed a canister over to the woman, "Yuri, open emergency oxygen. Adelaide, don't just sit there!" he helped the woman up.

Mia sealed the whole while Yuri started the oxygen again.

"That's better! The Dome's still got integrity! It's 10 feet of steel-combination, made in Liverpool. Magnificent workmanship!"

"It can't be stopped. Don't die with us," Adelaide said, trying to shoo him off, "Go back to your wife!"

"No, because someone told me just recently, they said I was gonna die. They said, he will knock four times, and I know what that means. And it doesn't mean right here, right now! Cos I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?!" he opened his arms. Three loud bangs were heard on the door, curtsy of Andy, "Three knocks is all you're getting!" the Doctor electrified the door, making Andy scream and fall, "Water and electricity, bad mix. Now then, what else have we got?"

"But there's no way to fight them," Adelaide reminded.

"Heat! They use water, so we can use heat! Learned that from my wife," he pressed buttons on the computer then rushed across the room, "Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the Flood. We'll ramp up the environment controls and steam them!"

"But you said we die! For the future, for the human race," she looked after him in confusion.

"Yes, because there are laws. There are Laws of Time," he looked up, "Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine and they will obey _me_!"

The base shuddered again and sent the man to the floor, his helmet falling off as well.

"Environment controls are down! Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas," Adelaide informed.

But he stood up, unperturbed, "Not beaten yet! I'll go outside! Look at the heat regulator," he picked up his helmet and saw its crack on the visor, "No, not beaten, not beaten!" he threw the helmet to the floor, "You've got spacesuits, in the next section," he ran out the door but was stopped by the water and so returned, "We're not just fighting the Flood, we're fighting time itself and I'm gonna win!"

~ 0 ~

Maggie stood before the ice fields and raised her arms, roaring while the ice began cracking.

~ 0 ~

"Something's happening to the glacier," Yuri informed.

"Where is Minerva?" the Doctor looked around, the Clever Girl should've been here by now. It was taking her longer than he calculated and there wasn't time to waste!

Meanwhile, Adelaide was tapping on the keypad, the computer's voice making the Doctor's head snap to her, "Implementing Captain's protocol," the computer said.

"Adelaide, what are you doing?!" he ran towards her.

"Oh, my God. Action Five," Mia shuddered a breath.

"If I have to fight you as well, then I will!" the Doctor warned but it was too late. Adelaide pressed the 'enter' button before he got to her.

 _"Nuclear device now active and primed. Nuclear device now active and primed._

"Minerva!" the Doctor cried and looked around, his hearts beating faster and faster as the clever girl ceased to arrive.

The base shuddered and sent Adelaide to the floor. Yuri grabbed a fire extinguisher as small fires sprouted all around them.

 _"Nuclear device entering final process."_

~ 0 ~

Minerva silently walked around the console, her face bearing that of anger and somber, "I'm really sorry old girl," she whispered as the box of wonders hummed to her, "I promise that it won't happen again," she looked up at the rotor with sadness, "But I can't let my husband die," she took a deep breath and gripped the lever, pulling it down.

~ 0 ~

Bowie Base one exploded into millions of pieces, leaving only a dent hole in what used to be the base.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS materialized in a snowing, London street. The Doctor opened the doors up and walked out, followed by Adelaide, Mia and Yuri.

"Isn't anyone going to thank me?" the Doctor turned and faced them, a bright smile on his face. Gadget trundled out of the TARDIS only to make a few inches out on the street before shutting down, "He's lost his signal. Doesn't know where he is."

"That's my house," Adelaide pointed with blinking eyes.

"Don't you get it? This is the 21st November 2059. Same day on Earth," he looked up to the sky, "And it's snowing. I love snow."

"What is that thing? It's bigger... I mean, it's bigger on the inside!" Mia looked back at the TARDIS, Minerva silently and cautiously coming up to stand at the doorway, "Who the hell are you?" Mia quickly ran off in horror.

Yuri made to follow but hesitated and glanced at Adelaide, "Look after her," she instructed.

"Yes, ma'am," Yuri nodded and ran after Mia.

"You saved us," Adelaide walked towards the Doctor.

"Just think though. Your daughter, and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again. Family reunion!" the Doctor exclaimed, unperturbed by the woman's frustration.

"But I'm supposed to be dead!"

"Not anymore."

"But Susie, my granddaughter, the person she's supposed to become might never exist now!''

"Nah! Captain Adelaide can inspire her face-to-face. Different details, but the story's the same."

Adelaide blinked and looked back at Minerva, the brunette immediately looking away, "But you can't know that," Adelaide faced the Doctor, anger beginning to surge, "And if my family changes, the whole of history could change. The future of the human race. No-one should have that much power."

"Tough," the Doctor spat.

"You should have left us there."

"Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before, in small ways, saved some little people. But never someone as important as you," he let out a small laughter, "Oh, I'm good!"

"Little people? What, like Mia and Yuri?" Adelaide raised an eyebrow, "Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"

"For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord _victorious_."

"And there's no-one to stop you?" Adelaide stumbled back at such ferocity the man showed.

"I don't need to stopped," the Doctor shrugged.

"This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is _wrong_ ," she pointed.

"That's for me to decide," he suddenly sported a small smile, contrasting deeply the darkness he had just seconds ago, "Now, you'd better get home. Oh, it's all locked up, you've been away. Still, that's easy," he used his screwdriver and unlocked her house's door, "All yours."

"Is there nothing you can't do?"

"Not anymore."

Adelaide pushed past him and walked towards her house. Without either he nor Minerva noticing, she reached for her gun and draws it before stepping inside. Before the Doctor reached the TARDIS, there was a gunshot. He spun back and looked at the door, instantly seeing the new changes in the course of history. In realization of what he had just caused, he looked back at Minerva who was now in tears.

"You were supposed to _teach_ me," she stalked towards him, "This is...this is _not_ what I wanted to learn. You...you are _not_ the person I married, where is he? What have you done?"

The Doctor put a hand on his head, taking a long breath, "I...I don't...I'm sorry," he trembled in horror.

"A Time Lord Victorious is wrong," Minerva snapped, "Perhaps there is something _I_ can teach _you_ ," she shut her eyes for a minute to calm down.

"M-Minerva..." she heard him say and opened her eyes to see him looking past her.

She followed his gaze to see Odd-Sigma standing on the road across them.

"I've gone too far," he whispered, falling to his knees, "Is this it? My death? Is it time?"

"Get up," Minerva ordered and helped him, "I won't have that. NO!" she shot a look at the Ood, seeing it vanish before her eyes, "I'd rather die myself first," she nearly made the promise.

"But it's-"

"NO," she cried, sniffling in anger and terror, "You...you don't get to die, do you hear me?" she trembled as he led them back into the TARDIS, "I am a princess and this is an _order_ ," she violently pointed at him.

"I hear you," he nodded, determinedly pressing a couple buttons on the console.

"Next stop everywhere," she hugged him tight and reached for the lever, dematerializing them out of the street.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Woo! Technically 'thursday' but I don't consider it the next day until I go to sleep and wake up lmao. It's 1:30 a.m. soo...let's just call it wednesday? I got home from school and got straight to finishing my packing...and guys, it's been a good five hours and I'm still not finished :'( Gosh I hate packing so much!

So, Time Lord Victorious anyone? No thank you. I prefer good ole Martian!

 _For Reviews:_

Yeah, I loved writing that part too. He was awfully scared and frankly funny xD. I didn't like the prophecy either like nO THANK YOU I DON'T WANT TO KNOW. It's been years and I'm still not over 10's death as you can tell. Yup, Clara's here from my pov and she's got some things to bring lol. Ooh, you caught the flower and door thing...well...you'll just have to continue reading future stories I'm afraid ;) Explanation will be given for that I promise!

Hooray! That chapter was funny and sweet to write! Yeah, I thought the title was funny but I figured there was no better one that one lmao. Yup, realization moment hit but you'll get one specific scene where it finally gets established for the world...and I love writing authoritative Minerva ^.^ Parsnip hip? What? xD

So...Friday...it all comes to an end...the Master returns? Time Lords returning? 10 regenerates? And...what's going on with Minerva? What? What? ...what? ;)


	26. The Ending of a Tale

Ood Sigma stood a couple of feet away from the spot where the TARDIS was materializing. A couple seconds later, the Doctor and Minerva emerged from the blue box, the Doctor wearing a straw hat while Minerva wore a pink lei.

"Ah! Now! Sorry! There you are," the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors, "So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood, in the snow, calling to me. Well, we didn't exactly come straight here, did we?" he looked at Minerva.

"We worked and had fun," she declared serious, "After our little incident in Mars I reviewed the lessons on restraint," she took the Doctor's hand, feeling him grip it immediately with guilt.

He was forever going to apologize for that catastrophe, both to Minerva and the world. He hadn't been thinking straight then. He had had enough of deaths happening around him that he had just...snapped. But never again. He was teaching Minerva all about the universe and its important laws and the Time Lord Victorious was _not_ something he wanted her to ever see nor hear about again. She still had a lot to learn and was doing very well, he loving the fact he had the privilege to teach her everything he knew.

She had stopped her lessons with her grandfather, Mayar, a long time ago. The man was still agitated with the idea of his granddaughter married to a Time Lord. She didn't desert her responsibilities as princess, she simply switched teachers with Zohar instead. Minerva still maintained a good relationship with her grandfather, just as long as she avoided anything to do with her husband. In fact, things were actually so good that Mayar had touched on the topic of official Moontsay _coronation_. Minerva had practically buzzed with excitement at the idea of actually becoming _queen_ of the Monsoon. Even if it was still just talk...it was a very nice talk to hear about.

"And we're fine now," Minerva decreed, "We traveled to places, got into trouble, you know my husband..." she shook her head.

"I didn't mean to insult the sultan," the Doctor glumly said, "But apart from that we saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt. Saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw. Named a galaxy Alison..."

" _Stacey_ named it Alison, remember?" Minerva reminded him.

"Ah yes, happy birthday Stacey," he cheered.

"Then we tried for Queen Elizabeth!" Minerva exclaimed before falling into sadness, "...but now she wanted my head," she rubbed the side of her head, "I like my head and I need it so I had a quarrel with her about it. Despises me even more now."

"And the mystery of Queen Elizabeth continues," the Doctor shrugged, tugging his wife closer to set a kiss on her hair.

Minerva laughed until she looked at the Ood again, "Oops, I think we've been rambling, dear."

"You should not have delayed," Ood-Sigma said.

The Doctor frowned in seriousness, unconsciously gripping his hold on Minerva, "The last time I was here, you said a song would be ending soon and my wife died. I'm in no hurry to see what's coming for me."

"You will come with me.

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," the Doctor reached inside his pocket to pull out a key. He pointed it at the doors of the TARDIS and made it beep as if it were an actual car, "See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like...it's funny. No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh."

"I think it's adorable," Minerva chuckled as they followed Ood-Sigma.

"And that's the only thing that counts for me," he genuinely grinned.

"So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" Minerva asked the other alien, thinking it rude to keep rambling on as if he wasn't there, "Oh that's beautiful," she gasped as she saw a city carved from stone and ice, "Now I see why Moontsays and Ood are friends, architectural tips!"

"You've achieved all this in how long?" the Doctor questioned the Ood, seeing the alien was far too quiet for such splendor.

"100 years."

And now the Doctor knew why, "Then we've got a problem, 'cos all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the 21st century. Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And the Mind of the Ood is troubled."

"Why, what's happened?" Minerva glanced over.

"Every night, princess. Every night, we have bad dreams."

Minerva shared a look with the Doctor, neither wanting to ask what was so bad about 'bad dreams'. Didn't everyone have those once in a while?

~ 0 ~

A group of Ood were gathered around a small table where a censer laid, releasing smoke to induce the trance state in which they were in. Ood Sigma led the Doctor and Minerva inside the room just as an Elder Ood was speaking, "Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning. Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning and he is returning and they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come."

"Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Ood-Sigma instructed.

"So... Right," the Doctor sat down beside the Elder Ood, "Hello!" he looked up to see his wife still standing, "Any time, dear."

"Oh me too?" she liked around the place, "It's important. I just thought..." but she was plopped down by the Doctor before she could finish.

The Elder Ood's began chanting together, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join."

They held hands, along with the Doctor and Minerva, and formed a circle. Immediately, the pair saw the maniacal laughter of the _Master_.

"He comes to us, every night," an Elder Ood explained, "I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now."

"That man is dead," the Doctor declared, his teeth gritting as he let go of the Ood, his other hand on Minerva gripping. Just remembering what that man had done to his Clever Girl...

"There is yet more. Join us," the Ood joined hands once more with a hesitant pair, "Events are taking shape, so many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man..."

Once more the pair heard the laughter of the Master but this time saw Wilf, Donna's grandfather sitting in his kitchen's table, mildly concerned.

"So scared…" the Elder Ood said.

"But that's Wilf," Minerva frowned, "What's wrong with him? Is Donna alright?"

"You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth, even now. The king is in his counting house."

The pair then saw an image of another couple, father and daughter, dressed in well looking clothes and inside a very fine room.

"We don't know who they are," the Doctor said.

"And there is another. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten..."

Next the pair saw Lucy Saxon inside a cell, crying.

"The Master's wife," the Doctor recognized.

"We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?" Ood-Sigma questioned.

"She was... It w-wasn't her fault, she was... The Master, he's a Time Lord, like me. I can show you," the Doctor reluctantly let go of Minerva to show the Ood the Master when he posed as Harold Saxon, "The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he'd done, so it never even happened. But Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body! The Master is dead!"

"And yet, you did not see..." the Elder Ood pointed out and showed the hand of a woman picking up the Master's ring.

"He survived..." Minerva's eyes widened, shuddering a breath.

"We have to go!" the Doctor tried standing but the Ood wouldn't release his nor Minerva's hands.

"But something more is happening, Doctor. The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark," the elder Ood looked up with its eyes red, "The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present and the past."

"What do you mean?" Minerva dreaded to ask, but knowing it needed to be done.

"This is what we have seen, princess. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself."

Quickly, the Doctor yanked Minerva out of the cave, running all the way to the TARDIS.

"Events that have happened are happening _now_..."

~ 0 ~

The pair ran as fast as they could through the snow...

~ 0 ~

A cell door was unlocked by a woman, a cell in which Lucy Saxon was in. It is the warder, also the woman who had the Master's ring in her possession. The warder nodded and so Lucy stood and walked to the door.

~ 0 ~

The pair arrived at the TARDIS where the Doctor unlocked it by remote.

~ 0 ~

Lucy walked through the corridors with the warden.

~ 0 ~

"Ow!" Minerva hissed as the controls of the console sparked. The Doctor growled and tried working the thing without needing his hammer.

As soon as the TARDIS had materialized in its destination, the Doctor and Minerva ran out to the streets and looked around.

~ 0 ~

Wilfred Mott stood at the head of a bus with his fellow friends sitting at the seats, all listening their quest. He had to set out the Doctor and Minerva after those awful dreams and that...woman who had appeared to him, apparently knowing the Doctor. Though he wouldn't mention that to anyone.

"Right, so the Doctor's tall and thin. Wears a brown suit, maybe a blue suit. He's got a long brown coat, modern sort of hair. All sticky-uppy, right? Minerva's a bit smaller, big, curly, brown hair and brown eyes. Looks more...normal," he supplied and the others chuckled, "In clothing appearance. Oh, and on page two, be on the lookout for a police box, exactly like the old ones," he showed them a sketch of the TARDIS.

"I got locked inside one of them - August Bank Holiday 1962," a woman said.

"Were you misbehaving, Minnie?" a man closer to her questioned.

"I certainly was. Wa-hey!" she exclaimed and the rest laughed.

"Yeah, all right, all right. Listen, this is important," Wilf called them back to his attention, "We have got to find it. Right, so phone around, phone everybody. Sally, will you get onto the Bridge Club? Winston, you try the Old Boys. Bobby, want you to ring the skiffle band, right? Between us, we've got the city covered."

"The Silver Cloak," Minnie said.

"Yeah."

"Who is he, then, this Doctor?" Winston asked, "And the woman, Minerva?"

"No, I can't tell you that, I swear," Wilf shook his head, "But answer me this. You've been having bad dreams? All of you? Dreams you can't remember? Yeah, well, that's why we need him. We need the Doctor and Minerva more than ever."

~ 0 ~

The Doctor and Minerva stood on the top of a pile of dirt near the shipyard in which _the Master_ was also in. The Doctor inhaled deeply, focusing in on the other presence he should be able to feel.

From across the place, the Master looked up in awareness that he was not the only Time Lord in the area. With a small smile he stood up and picked up a pipe then headed over to the fire barrel. He started banging the pipe against the barrel four times. He stopped momentarily then continued again.

Upon hearing the noise, the Doctor dashed towards the direction, Minerva right behind him.

The Master started running, going along a large ridge of dirt, the pair going through the discarded girders on the ground. It wasn't long before the three found each other, standing across each other. The Master let out a loud roar then leaped into the air with his maniacal laughter. The Doctor and Minerva chased after him until they closed the distance with the Master. He simply laughed and his face changed into that of a skeleton almost.

"Please, let me help! You're burning up your own life force," the Doctor pleaded but the Master took off without a word.

Before the pair could follow, chase, Wilf appeared and blocked their way, "Oh my gosh, Doctor, Minerva, you're a sight for sore eyes!" the elderly man laughed.

"Wilf?" Minerva blinked in surprise.

"Out of my way!" the Doctor moved around and climbed onto a pile of girders to look for the Master.

"Wilf, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked the man, glancing at the Doctor in concern.

Th rest of Wilfred's friends arrived at the site, all bearing questions and remarks here and there.

"Did we do it?" Winston looked at the brunette woman before his friend, "Is this them?"

"Tall and thin, big brown coat," one of the men said and glanced at Minerva, "And the big hair."

"Hey," Minerva put her hands over her head, "It's not big...it's _long,_ there's a difference."

"The Silver Cloak," Minnie chuckled, "It worked. Cos Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbor saw this man heading east."

The Doctor stepped down from the pile and looked at the elderly humans around them, "Wilfred? Have you told them who we are?"

"No," Wilfred shook his head, "I just said you were a doctor, and you were a student, that's all. And might I say, sir, it is an honor to see you again," he saluted.

Minerva chuckled and went ahead to give the man a hug while the Doctor saluted with a wry smile.

Meanwhile, Minnie moved closer to the Doctor, "Ooh, but you never said he was a looker! He's gorgeous, take a photo!" she handed a camera to a nearby man.

"Not bad, eh?" the man took the camera.

"No, very nice," the rest of the folks said.

"Me next!" the man holding the camera exclaimed.

Minerva chuckled as she stayed by Wilf's side, "Nice friends, Wilf."

"Eh..." was all the man could say as his friends gathered around the Doctor, some even trying to pull Minerva into pictures.

"I'm Minnie. Minnie the Menace. It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man," Minnie placed herself right next to the Doctor and put her arm around his waist.

"Just get off him, leave him alone, will you?" Wilf sighed.

"Hush, you old misery. Come on, Doctor. Give us a smile," Minnie reached up to pinch the Doctor's cheeks, "That's it."

"I'm good, thanks," Minerva continuously shook her head as she was pulled forwards.

"Hold on..." the man clicked the camera, "Did it flash?"

"No, there's a blue light, try again," Minnie said.

"I'm all fingers and thumbs."

"We're really kind of busy, you know?" the Doctor tried to exit the picture but the woman beside him had quite the grip.

"Oh, it won't take a tick. Keep smiling," Minnie gave a cheeky smile as her hand slid down from his waist to bottom, goosing him.

"Is that your _hand_ , Minnie?!" the poor Doctor jerked away from her.

"Good boy," she patted his bum.

"And _that's_ where the wife comes in," Minerva stalked over and cut in between the elderly woman and the Doctor, "Hi, get away from my husband, _mine_ ," she enunciated every sound off the last words, "Hear that? _Mine_ ," she turned and hugged her husband by the waist.

The Doctor just smiled and kissed her head, "Mine, mine, mine," he swayed his head with a genuine smile as he hugged her back.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor, Minerva and Wilf stepped out of the bus and said goodbye to the rest of the pensioners. They had returned to the city and had stopped at a local, busy street.

"Come on, then. Here we are, hurry up. Bye. You behave, bye," Wilf pointed at the others.

Minerva frowned as Minnie blew a kiss to the Doctor, "I don't like her," she declared in a pout.

"Over here, come on," Wilf led them across the street.

"What's so special about this place? We passed 15 cafes on the way," the Doctor commented as they entered a cafe shop.

They took a seat at a booth, Wilf on one side and Minerva and the Doctor on the other.

"Wilf, what's wrong?" Minerva asked the old man, seeing his face contorted in discomfort.

" I keep seeing things, I... This face at night."

The Doctor was staring at Wilf, tilting his head as he studied the elderly man, "Who are you?"

"I'm Wilfred Mott."

"No, people have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours."

"He's got a point there," Minerva conceded, "Took me seventeen years to find him."

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose," Wilf chuckled.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf," the Doctor felt rather stupid for not realizing that sooner, "Over and over again, like something's still connecting us."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?"

"Oh don't you go pulling a Donna on us," Minerva shook her head, "Look at her now," she smiled and looked at the Doctor, her smile fading when he saw his expression.

He looked at Wilf and swallowed hard, "I'm doing to die."

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf shrugged.

"Don't you even dare," Minerva frowned.

"All right, I'll try not to," he gave a small smile.

"I was told, 'he will knock four times," the Doctor inhaled deeply, his hand finding its way to Minerva's, "That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then..."

"But I thought when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body," Wilf reminded, even gesturing to Minerva who was the prime example despite not being exactly the same.

"I can still die. If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead," the Doctor gripped Minerva's hand as he stared at her, "Even then. Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away with my Clever Girl...and I'm dead."

"I'm sauntering away with _you_ ," she reminded, picking up their interlocked hands and kissing his fingers, "That's what you did with me, right? That's what I would've done those centuries back when you came with your big ole scarf and then the piece of celery," she smiled, relief hitting over her when she got a small one from him back, "We're still us, we'll always be us."

The Doctor reached with his free hand to touch her cheek, his finger stroking in a smooth circle before he leaned over and kissed her. When he pulled away, he opened his mouth to remark but saw something behind her past the window, "...Donna?"

Minerva made a face, "That's not exactly what I expect after we kiss, but..."

"No, no, over there," he turned her head to the window.

"Hey, my ginger sister!" Minerva exclaimed and glanced at Wilf who had been looking through the window for quite some time just waiting for Donna to come by, "Did you know she was coming here?" Minerva asked him.

"Perhaps..." he shrugged innocently.

They heard a door closing and looked over to see Donna Noble confronting a meter attendant across them, 'Don't you touch this car!" she warned in her usual loud voice, making the trio laugh.

"Oh I love her," the Doctor said.

"Not as much as me, right?" Minerva looked back at him.

"You're an entire new level, dear," he kissed her forehead.

Though the Doctor did admit he had a softer side for Donna throughout all his past companions. Donna was the woman who allowed his wife to travel with him at any moment they wanted, just like they had always wanted to. Donna was the one who helped him during Minerva's illness, the first person to know of the illness besides himself. Donna had saved the entire universe - universes - and saved his wife. Yes, Donna had a far more soft spot on his side. Because of her, Minerva was here with him and would always be free to explore the world.

"Oi, who's that?" Minerva's eyebrows raised as a young man had joined Donna carrying her shopping bags, "Excuse me?"

"That's Shawn Temple," Wilf explained, "They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding," the Doctor remarked.

"Have we really been gone that much?" Minerva blinked as she looked at him.

"Three years," he nodded, "So that would make you-"

"Don't," she put a finger on his lips, "How to keep a wife happy? _Never_ say her age when she hits triple digits."

Wilf chuckled, "I see it works the same way with aliens."

"Pretty much," Minerva nodded, recalling her human grandparents' marital rules and whatnot. She looked back to her ginger sister and sighed with a small smile, "Married again? Oh that ginger has some big explaining to do."

"Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot," the Doctor shook his head.

"No, it's Temple-Noble," Wilf said.

"Is she happy? Is he nice?" Minerva asked, more like demanded. Donna deserved the best man out there and so she needed to see if this particular 'Shawn' was just the man she needed.

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat."

"Dreamer, eh? That's definitely what Donna needs," Minerva nodded.

"Yeah, how about you? Who've you two got now?"

"No one, we're traveling on our own now," the Doctor replied, one again his hand over hers in a tight grip, just needing to know she was still there and _he_ was still there, "We thought it would be better alone," but his voice broke as he thought of Mars and its events, "But I did some things that went wrong. I need..."

"No," Minerva whispered and turned his head to her, her hands going up to either side of his face, "It's okay," she nodded, her heart breaking as his eyes watered up.

The Doctor took a moment to recollect himself, taking Minerva's hands off his face, "Merry Christmas," he gave Wilf a glance.

"Yeah, and you!"

"Look at us," Minerva sighed.

"You know what you two need?" Wilf looked at them, "You need _her_ ," he nodded to the spot Donna was in, "Good ole Donna would make you laugh again, right?"

"We'd...we'd rather not bring her into this mess," the Doctor said, Minerva agreeing with a nod, "This is just...too much."

~ 0 ~

 _And so it came to pass that the players took their final places, making ready the events that were to come. The madman sat in his empire of dust and ashes, little knowing of the glory he would achieve, while his savior looked upon the wilderness, in the hope of changing his inevitable fate._

~ 0 ~

The Master was sat in a warehouse, the sky dark as it was night, and gnawed on a bone. The Doctor and Minerva stood upon a pile of dirt as they once again searched for the Master not very far off.

~ 0 ~

 _"Far away, the idiots and fools dreamt of a shining new future. A future now doomed to never happen. As Earth rolled onwards into night, the people of that world did sleep and shiver, somehow knowing that dawn would bring only one thing," a_ man dressed in highly decorated robes read outloud, " _The final day._ "

~ 0 ~

The Master looked up and sniffed, knowing that presence very well. He looked over his shoulder and saw the Doctor standing, alone. He slowly walked towards him and the Master stood up, holding his hands out with electricity crackling as he shot a beam that only barely missed the Doctor. As the Doctor continued walking, the Master shot again but to no avail. He rubbed his hands together and built more power then fired with both hands, actually hitting the Doctor on the chest. The Doctor fought as he continued standing until the Master stopped. The Doctor fell to his knees and so the Master moved over and grabbed him by the lapels, ending face-to-face.

Upon feeling an iced cold water splatting on his back, the Master turned around, "You let go of my husband right now," Minerva ordered, her hands lowering.

"Was that supposed to kill me?"

"No, I don't kill. It was to get your attention, now let go," she walked towards them.

"I told you to go back to the TARDIS," the Doctor sighed as Minerva helped him sit up.

"Yes, and leave you with the maniac who killed me?" she scoffed and started checking him, "I don't think so."

"I see you've finally figured it out," the Master swayed his head as he moved around, slightly disappointed the Doctor wasn't clueless anymore.

"If you know who she was why didn't you say anything?" the Doctor demanded, still a bit weak to get up.

"Oh let's be honest," the Master smirked, "If I would've said 'Doctor, your long lost lover is actually hidden away as a human because she regenerated and clearly used malfunctioning chameleon arch,' would you have believed me?'"

The pair shared a glance with uneasiness...

"Exactly."

"You could have mentioned the regeneration," Minerva glared at him, "The myth? That was it!"

"Oh please, abomination that is," he rolled his eyes.

"Don't insult my wife," the Doctor snapped.

" _Wife_? Now that's funny," he laughed, "The great, famous Doctor...married to a Moontsay? The species who wishes they were part of the mighty Time Lords? Their bloody planet never compared to ours, tell me woman," he cast a sharp look at Minerva, "Did your land have red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition? No, it didn't, because it was all _snow_. Just snow, and nothing more than a primitive home for a primitive people."

Minerva glared as she rose to her feet, "Why do you hate me so much?" she questioned softly, her anger dissipating for honest curiosity and confusion.

Clearly, the Master had known about her in the past - for he went to the Monsoon and directly to her as if he'd known her already. But to kill her? If he wanted the crystal he would've gotten it anyways, she was no use to him anyways. Why the murder?

"What have I ever done to you?" Minerva stepped forwards, feeling the hand of the Doctor on her arm to stop her from going any further, "What could a woman who had never met any other Time Lord done to you?"

The Master stared at her as if considering whether or not to answer, but in the end he chose, "I'm hungry," instead.

"Your resurrection went wrong," the Doctor said as he slowly stood up, "That energy... Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

"And that's human Christmas out there," he pointed, "They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood food. Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Stop it," Minerva frowned.

"Slice! Slice!"

"Stop it!"

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"

"Stop it!" the Doctor ordered in a louder tone. The Master took a deep breath to regain his control, "What if I ask you for help? There's more at work tonight than you and me, us."

"Oh, yeah?"

"We've been told something is returning," Minerva explained quietly.

"And here I am!"

"Pretty sure it was something more."

"But it hurts," he held his head in pain.

The Doctor frowned, "We were told the end of time…"

"It hurts, Doctor, the noise... The noise in my head, Doctor, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor honestly said to him, for he knew the drums were the origin point of nearly all his bad actions.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen," he rushed back to the two.

"I can't hear it," the Doctor shook his head.

"For me it went away the moment you used the crystal on me," Minerva said, "It was merely an echo of my last moments in my first incarnation."

"Just listen," the Master growled and grabbed the Doctor's head in his hands, pressing their foreheads together.

Upon hearing the endless drumbeats, the Doctor gasped and pulled away, "But that's...!"

"What?"

"I heard it. But there's no noise, there never has been, it's just your insanity, it's the... What is it? What's inside your head?"

The Master stood and laughed. Minerva frowned, "That shouldn't make you laugh..."

But instead of giving a proper answer, the Master broke into a dash outside. The couple followed after him in an attempt to talk again.

The Master launched himself into the sky then landed on a large pile of dirt and rock, "All these years, you thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

Suddenly, a beam of light fell on the Master with the noise of whirring blades from a helicopter. Another beam shined on the Doctor and Minerva. Ropes were thrown down and two men rappelled down with tranquilizers for the Master.

"Don't...!" the Doctor shouted and ran for them.

"Doctor!" Minerva called as two other men fired their rifles at the ground, around the Doctor's feet. However, he didn't stop and continued but couldn't do anything as the Master was lifted to the helicopter.

"Let him go!" he ordered.

One of the soldiers knocked him out with the butt of his gun and the helicopter flew away.

"No!" Minerva cried as she ran towards her unconscious husband on the ground.

~ 0 ~

Joshua Naismith, writer of the famous book _Fight the Future_ stood in a room where the Master was strapped down with a strap covering his mouth, "If you would, Mr Danes..."

Danes walked over to the chair and released the strap covering the Master's mouth, "I'm starving," was the man's first words.

"You've my daughter to thank for this. It's all her idea," Naismith stood beside his daughter, "She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return. It's the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling."

"And I was right," she proudly said, "He's back. The very man we need, and he's here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful!"

~ 0 ~

The next day, Wilf hurried inside his room and shut the door before pulling out a tarnished case from under his bed. He opened it and pulled out the second box which he opened with caution and reached inside for a cloth wrapped item. He unwrapped it and took a good look at his revolver, not proud of it but it was necessary. As he started checking if it was loaded, he heard something hitting his window. He went over to the window and saw the Doctor running back to the TARDIS where Minerva awaited at the doorway.

~ 0 ~

Wilf came out of the front door and met the pair on the street, the Doctor still shaken up from the past night, "We lost him, I was unconscious. He's still on Earth. I can smell him, but he's too far away."

"Is Donna home?" Minerva tried peering around the man, "We would've came inside but with that new man, Shawn, you said? Didn't want to give a surprise."

"Minerva, focus," the Doctor reminded.

"Sorry," she looked down.

"You're the only one, Wilf," he said to the elderly man, "The only connection I can think of. You're involved. If I could work out how. Tell me, have you seen anything? I don't know. Anything strange, anything odd?"

"Well, there was..." Wilf began but trailed off, no, no, the woman said not to mention her.

"What? What is it? Tell me!"

"Well, there was... No, it's nothing."

"Think harder, Wilf. Maybe there was something out of the blue," Minerva offered, "Connected to your life, something."

"Well, Donna was a bit strange," he admitted, "And I mean beside the whole alien ice powers and whatnot, "She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" the Doctor immediately questioned.

~ 0 ~

Wilf came out of the kitchen with the book Donna had gifted him for Christmas. He handed it to the Doctor, he and Minerva just outside the doors.

"Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith," Wilf pointed to the cover.

Minerva peered beside the Doctor and frowned, "Doctor, isn't that the man the Ood showed us?"

"The what?" Wilf blinked.

"The Ood," the Doctor waved him.

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just Ood. But it's all part of the convergence, maybe… Maybe touching Donna's subconscious, and she hasn't even realized it."

Minerva smiled, "That's my ginger sister: part Time Lord, human and Moontsay. Though she gets the cleverness from my side."

"Watch it," the Doctor pointed at her as he skimmed the book.

"Dad, what are you up to?" Sylvia stepped out of the kitchen and saw the pair, "You? What are you doing here?"

"Merry Christmas," Minerva waved, "Is Donna around?"

"Merry Christmas," the woman waved back in confusion.

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna poked her head out of the kitchen and gasped as she the pair.

"Finally!" Minerva cheered and rushed over to hug her ginger sister, "I've been asking endlessly for you!"

"Yet not one call nor visit, hmm?" Donna gave a sharp look at the Doctor who just winced at the error.

"We got distracted," Minerva pulled away.

"Don't elaborate," Donna immediately held a hand to stop any words she did not want to hear.

"I wasn't gonna," Minerva frowned and moved back to the Doctor.

"What are you two doing here?" she followed, "I mean, don't get me wrong I love seeing you guys. It's been _long_ ," she made both wince this time, "Yeah," Donna nodded and set her hands on her hips, "What's going on?"

"Donna, why did you give your grandfather this book?" the Doctor waved the book he held.

Donna took the book from him and skimmed it, still unsure of her reasons, "I...don't know. I just saw it and...thought it was important," she looked up, seeing everyone's concerned faces except Sylvia, "Why? What's going on? Have I done it again?"

"Just a bit," Minerva took the book away.

"Donna?" they heard Shawn's voice and made Donna wince.

"Did we just see what I think we saw?" Minerva blinked, even the Doctor with a half-opened mouth. Donna Noble never winced for anyone.

"Em...so tiny detail here," Donna nervously put up two fingers to show the amount, "It's really tiny, really...um...I haven't told Shawn about the ice powers," she wiggled her fingers, "Nor the fact that I traveled with aliens and that _I_ sort of am an alien..."

"But you're getting married," the Doctor reminded.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Shouldn't you... _say_ something about that?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Probably."

"Don't you think that should be _now_?" the Doctor asked.

"Em...perhaps..."

"Donna Noble you march in there right now and tell that man who you are because he should know what a wonderful, _important_ woman he's going to marry soon," Minerva pointed.

"But-"

"GO."

"Min-"

"Don't make me splatter you with water," Minerva set her hands on her hips, sharp look ready.

"God help your children," Donna muttered and turned away, heading back for the house.

"Right then, we should be going," thee Doctor took Minerva's hand and headed for the street.

"Yeah, me, too," Wilf immediately said and started following the pair out.

"Dad? What's going on here?" Sylvia demanded as she followed.

"Bye, see you later," Wilf waved and hurried on faster. He most certainly didn't want to explain what was going on.

"Dad, I'm warning you...Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS doors and looked back at the elderly man, "You can't come with us."

"You're not leaving me with her," Wilf nodded back to Sylvia who was still hollering after him.

"Fair enough," and so the Doctor opened the doors for the man to go in.

Minerva shook her head and looked back at Sylvia, "We'll take good care of him!" she exclaimed, "You are very rude, Doctor," she declared as she turned to enter the box. Instead she was greeted with a soft kiss on her lips, "Mm, what was that for?" she blinked after he had pulled away.

"Just...for good luck," the Doctor mumbled quietly, and a bit sadly, as he pulled her inside. He quickly brought them to the console and started the dematerializing process, "Naismith!" he handed the book to Minerva, "If I can track him down..."

"Doctor, shut up," Minerva suddenly said and he looked up to Wilf who was more than bemused at the place.

"Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside," the Doctor remembered, "D'you like it?"

"I thought it'd be...less clean," he admitted.

"Wh-less clean?" the Doctor frowned, "I could take you back home, right now."

"Shut up," Minerva covered his mouth again, "And thank you, Wilf. Madman in a box needs a wife like me," she grinned proudly, "Being human definitely helped me be neater. Back as a princess I wasn't really allowed to do anything, specially clean."

The Doctor made a face and lowered her hand, "Show off."

"Let's not go there, Martian," she warned.

"Listen, if this is a time machine..." Wilf looked around, "Then that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"We can't go back inside our own timelines, we have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus. Understand? " the Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Not a word."

"Welcome to the box of wonders!" Minerva cheered and hugged him.

"Thank you," Wilf chuckled and hugged back.

~ 0 ~

Naismith and his daughter brought the Master, in a straight-jacket, into the lab room where the Gate was placed in. Naismith looked at the female technician, "You can demonstrate," he ordered.

The technician tapped on her keyboard and electricity crackled through the Gate, intriguing the Master, "Ooh, that's not from Earth," he casually remarked.

"And neither are you," Naismith countered, "A perfect combination, don't you think?"

The male technician came up and cleared his throat, "Excuse me, sir. If I could check the basement? We're getting fluctuation on the power cords."

"Of course."

The technician looked at his co-worker, "Miss Addams? If you could bring the calibration statistics."

Quickly, the two technicians took their things and hurried out the room...

They made their way into the basement of the mansion which held banks of electronic equipment. The male technician went up ahead, looking concerned, "Who the hell is he? What if he finds out? An expert, they said. Well, what sort of expert? Who is he?"

"I don't know. According to the records, Harold Saxon was Prime Minister of this stupid country," the woman rolled her neck, "I'm choking in this thing! I'm sorry," she pressed the face of her watch and changed into her true form; her skin now green with small spikes protruding from her head, "By the saints, that's better. Oh, these people are so flat!"

Her companion did the same and took a breath, "But what do we do? We were so close, we almost had it working."

"What if this visitor is some sort of genius? Well, think about it. We're hijacking this project. Maybe we can use him, too. Harold Saxon, or whatever he is, might be exactly what we need."

~ 0 ~

Naismith was filling the Master in on their little project, the Master now released from the straight-jacket but in turn changed to a collar around his neck while he sat in front of the computers.

"The Gate was found inside a spaceship, buried at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It was moved to an institute known as Torchwood, but when Torchwood fell, let's just say, I acquired it," Naismith said.

The Master smiled, "I like you."

"Thank you."

"You'd taste great."

Unnerved, Naismith stepped back, "Mr. Danes?"

"The visitor will be given food," Danes ordered.

A servant entered bearing a covered tray and placed down in front of the Master. It was revealed to be a whole turkey which the Master immediately grabbed with both his hands and proceeded to shove it all into his mouth, very quickly down to the bone.

"Anyway, the device came equipped with its own power supply. A Nuclear Bolt," Naismith continued and gestured to the two clear booths that were placed side-by-side. One technician was inside one of the boots and couldn't get out until a second technician came and took his place in the other booth, "One technician remains in charge of the feedback, 24 hours a day. And the power feeds through to the Gate. It encourages some sort of cellular regeneration. Miss Collins was our test subject," a woman walked over, "She carried some burns, as a result of an accident when she was a child, down her left side. If you could?" the woman rolled up her sleeve to show clear skin, "The Gate mended her. Thank you," the woman returned to her work.

"But what do you want it for?" the Master raised an eyebrow.

"We calculate that if this device can be fully repaired by your good self, it can restore the body, forever. Hence its given title, the Immortality Gate. Because that's what I want. Not for me, but for my daughter. I want her never to die. My gift to her. She will be immortal."

"Abigail," the daughter spoke her name with pride, "It means "bringer of joy"."

The Master sniffed the air suddenly, sensing his fellow frenemy was around, "Better get to work," he started tapping on the keyboard with haste.

~ 0 ~

The trio materialized in the stable of the mansion, a very shocked Wilf coming out last from the box, "We've moved! We've really moved!"

"You should stay here," the Doctor looked back at him, even giving Minerva the little look.

"Not bloody likely!" Wilf shook his head.

"My thoughts exactly," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Can you not swear?" the Doctor sighed to Wilf, "My wife has gained new colorful Moontsay vocabulary and the last thing I need is for her to gain the Earth's," Minerva smirked, "She doesn't need encouragement."

"Oh hush," she took his remote and pointed it at the TARDIS, "Bye bye, box of wonders. It's just a second out of sync because really the last thing we need is for the Master to take her again."

~ 0 ~

The trio made their way along the side of one of the buildings of the property, starting through an archway only to go and hide at the sight of two armed guards.

"That book said he's a billionaire. He's got his own private army," Wilf whispered.

"Down here," the Doctor used his screwdriver on a small door, letting Wilf and Minerva in first.

"You know, maybe I could've tried those woman wiles Donna spoke about once," she turned and smirked.

"Ah, I don't think so," he gave her an amused smile, "Those are only for _me_."

"Possessive, aren't we?" she raised an eyebrow.

He playfully rolled his eyes and turned her away, forcing her to go in, "You have no idea..." he mumbled to himself, just thinking of the next man that would take his place and her...

~ 0 ~

Miss Adams was astounded at the progress the Master was making on the device, looking at the monitors from the basement with her companion, "The man's a miracle. All the systems are slotting back into place. The shatterthreads have harmonized and the multiple overshots have triplicated."

The Doctor peered around the corner and smiled, "Nice gate!" he exclaimed and walked in, Minerva and Wilf following behind.

"Hi," Minerva waved.

"Hello," Wilf added.

"Look, sorry, don't call security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer," the Doctor strolled further inside the room, "Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

"I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?" Miss Adams questioned, playing innocent.

The Doctor used his screwdriver on her, 'Shimmer!" and made her change to her true form once more.

"Oh, my Lord. She's a cactus!" Wilf gasped.

"Miss Addams?" her companion called through the radio.

~ 0 ~

Upon receiving no answer, the companion looked at Naismith, "If you'll just excuse me," he quickly left the room.

Naismith was at the side of the Master watching him work, "Now, please don't imagine I'm a slave-driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mr Saxon."

"My name... is the Master," he pressed enter on the keyboard and leaned back in satisfaction as the room went dark and the Gate charged up with a field appearing in its center.

"Oh, excellent. Excellent!" Naismith reveled, "Mr Danes?"

"The visitor will be restrained," Danes ordered.

"What? But I repaired it," the Master frowned.

"I'm not an idiot," Naismith scoffed, "Don't let him anywhere near that thing," he ordered the rest of the employees.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was looking at the screens in the basement with Minerva beside him, "He's got it working, but what is it?"

Miss Adam's companion entered the room, unaware of the three new visitors, "What's working? What are you doing here?"

Minerva held the Doctor's screwdriver at the man with a mischievous smile, "Shimm-err!" she laughed and handed it back to the Doctor, 'Now in all honesty, and for the sake of time, can you please tell us what's going here? The Master, Harold Saxon? Skeleton guy, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

~ 0 ~

Danes fastened the buckles on the straight-jacket the Master was once again in.

"Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you've laid traps," Naismith said, "Perhaps explosives, a means of escape and murder. But everything you've done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside."

The Master only smirked, oh those humans had no idea what was coming.

~ 0 ~

"But I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational," the male technician explained.

"Who are you?" thee Doctor looked between both green creatures, "We've met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red."

"No, that's a Zocci," Miss Addams rolled her eyes.

"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci. Completely different," her companion assured.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci. We're a salvage team. We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"Okay but what does it do?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Get to the point, already!"

"Well, it mends, it's a simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better."

"That can't be its only purpose," Minerva looked at the Doctor, "Can it?"

"No," he shook his head, "There's got to be more. Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal," he checked the equipment again.

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf asked, confused.

"More or less," Miss Addams shrugged.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," Minerva pointed, "Can anyone answer?"

Miss Addams just scoffed, "It doesn't just mend _one_ person at a time!"

"That would be ridiculous," her companion agreed.

"It mends whole planets."

"It does what?!" the Doctor nearly fell over.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population."

The Doctor ran from the room without a word.

"Did I do something?" Miss Addams frowned.

"Kind of," Minerva shook her head and followed.

~ 0 ~

"It's time for the broadcast. The President's grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend its own problems," Naismith switched on the television.

Trinity Wells appeared on the screen, reporting over the president of America, _"And now, anticipation is rising as we go live to Washington. Here, on Christmas Day, the President has promised an instant and radical solution to the worldwide depression. Barack Obama will lead us all into a new age of prosperity."_

Another woman introduced the man, " _Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States._ "

The members of the press stood to their feet as the president entered and stood on the platform, " _I'd like to speak briefly about the state of our economy..._ "

The Doctor ran into the lab and interrupted it all, "Turn the Gate off, right now!" he ordered.

"At arms!" Danes ordered and immediately rifles were aimed at the Doctor.

"No, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!"

"Oh, like that was ever gonna happen," the Master rolled his eyes and removed the straight-jacket off himself with a burst of energy. He leaped into the Gate with a scream, "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now."

"Deactivate it. All of you, turn the whole thing off!" the Doctor ordered but everyone in the room didn't move, instead shaking their heads violently.

"He's...inside my head," Naismith made a face of pain.

"Get out of there!"

The Master fired an energy bolt at the Doctor and made him fall to the floor.

"Doctor, there's something wrong with Wilf!" Minerva entered the room with the elderly man beside her.

"Doctor! Doctor, there's this face..."

The Doctor jumped to his feet and ran to them, "What is it? What can you see?"

"Well, it's him. I can see him! I can see his face."

"Look," Minerva breathed as she pointed to the television.

 _"There's something wrong... It seems to be affecting the President..."_

The president had his face in his hands, in discomfort like the Naismith and Abigail.

The Doctor hurried to the Gate to try and shut it down, hearing the laughter of the Master.

"I can't turn it off," the Doctor exclaimed.

"That's because I locked it, idiot," the Master snapped.

"Wilfred! Get inside, get him out," the Doctor grabbed the man and put him inside the booth, along with Minerva, "Just need to filter the levels."

"Oh! I can see again. He's gone," Wilf sighed of relief.

"Radiation shielding. Now, press the button, let us out."

"You what?"

"We can't get out until you press the button, that button there."

Wilf pressed the button and the pair ran out.

"50 seconds and counting," the Master warned, or teased.

"To what?" Minerva dared to ask.

"Ohhh, you're gonna love this."

As the Doctor tried shutting off the machine, Minerva heard Wilf's cellphone ringing. The elderly man took out his phone and answered, "Hello? Oh, Gawd. Donna?"

~ 0 ~

Donna stood in her kitchen, watching in horror as Shawn and her mother stood completely still, "Where are you?" she asked her grandfather, "It's Mum and Shawn, something's wrong with them."

Sylvia crinkled her face, "There's this face..."

Shawn started shaking his head...

"But wait a minute, I mean, what about you? Can't you see anything?" Wilf asked Donna, concerned yet relieved that at least she wasn't being affected.

"I can see them, that's bad enough," Donna frowned.

~ 0 ~

Wilf looked at his phone after it had beeped and saw it was his friend Winston, "Not now, Winston!" he exclaimed.

~ 0 ~

"Those dreams - I can remember that face," Winston shook his head.

~ 0 ~

People from everywhere came outside, all of them dazed, "There's a face. In my head," a young man said.

~ 0 ~

"It's everyone!" Wilf heard from his phone.

"What is it? Hypnotism? Mind control?" the Doctor demanded from the Master, furious at everything, "You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no, they're not gonna think like me. They're gonna _become_ me," the Master informed, "A-a-a-and, zero!"

A wave of energy started in the Grate and spread across the globe, the maniacal laughter of the Master picking up again.

~ 0 ~

Donna watched in horror as Shawn and her mother shook their heads at near light speed.

~ 0 ~

All around the world, affecting even the poor outskirts of San Diego.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor, what's he done?" Minerva watched Naismith and Abigail changing, "What's he done!?"

~ 0 ~

Donna gasped as she saw Shawn and her mother physically change into a strange man before her very eyes, picking up her phone again to speak to her grandfather, "But they've changed! What is going on!? Oh this has the Doctor and my clever sister's enemies written all over it, what's going on!?" she half-shouted.

~ 0 ~

"What is it? What have you done, you monster?" Minerva turned to the Master angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me? Or to me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Or to me?" Naismith/the Master questioned, making her turn.

"Or to me?" Abigail/the Master then asked.

"Or to me?" Danes/the Master repeated.

"Breaking news - I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!" Trinity/the Master laughed from the screen.

~ 0 ~

"I'm President. President of the United States. Look at me!" the president/the Master exclaimed while the rest of the press/the Master's cheered for him.

~ 0 ~

The Master strode across the floor with his duplicates behind him, "The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only... the Master race," he and his other duplicates laughed together.

~ 0 ~

 _"And so it came to pass on Christmas Day that the human race did cease to exist. But even then, the Master had no concept of his greater role in events, for this was far more than humanity's end. This day was the day upon which the whole of creation would change forever. This was the day... the Time Lords returned."_

Four Time Lords stood behind the man who read, two of them wearing formal collars and two with their heads bowed and faces covered.

"For Gallifrey," a Time Lord declared.

The rest then added, "For Gallifrey!"

"For victory!"

"For victory!"

"For the end of time itself!"

"For the end of time itself!"

~ 0 ~

Gallifrey was in wreckage and chaos at every corner. Its protective dome covering the Citadel was shattered and inside smoke billowed from the destroyed buildings.

Three Time Lords marched down a corridor, ignoring pieces of ceiling the fell. The President, being the man in the center, entered a chamber room and took his seat at the head of a table where more Time Lords & Ladies were sat at.

"What news of the Doctor?" the president questioned.

"Disappeared, my Lord President," a Time Lord answered.

"But we know his intention. He still possesses the Moment," said a Time Lady, "And he'll use it, to destroy Daleks and Time Lords alike."

"And that of the Moontsay crystal?"

"The Master has disappeared with it," the Time Lord responded, "The Royal Family has been killed, there is no one left on the Monsoon. There is nothing we can do anymore."

"The Visionary confirms it," the Time Lady gestured to an elderly woman sitting at the other end of the table.

She had long gray hair that straggled down. She had tattooed lines & dots sprawled across face. She was busy scribbling down on the several papers she had in front of her, "Ending, burning, falling, all of it falling, the black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning."

"All of her prophecies say the same, that this is the last day of the Time War, that Gallifrey falls, that we die, today," the Time Lord said.

"Ending... Ending. Ending. Ending!"

"Perhaps it's time," the Time Lady admitted, "This is only the furthest edge of the Time War. But at its heart, millions die every second, lost in bloodlust and insanity, With time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again, a travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it, at last?"

The president stood up with a serious face, "Thank you for your opinion," he held his hand that bore a gauntlet over it to her direction. It glowed with energy and disintegrated the woman in less than a second, no one perturbed by the screams, "I will not die! Do you hear me?! A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will not!""

"There is, um..." the Time Lord picked up one of the Visionary's scrolls, "There is one part of the prophecy, my Lord," he brought the scroll over to the president, "Forgive me. I'm sorry. It's rather difficult to decipher. But it talks of two survivors, beyond the Final Day, two children of Gallifrey...and a child of the Monsoon."

The president tensed under that last statement, "Pardon me? We established the Moontsays were extinct."

"One remains and will remain," the Time Lord studied the scroll again, wondering if there had been an error.

"Does it name them - all of them?"

"It foresees them locked in their final confrontation, the enmity of ages, which would suggest..."

"The Doctor! And the Master," the president immediately knew the answer, "And the last one?"

"A royal," the Time Lord studied for better answers, "A young royal - a woman."

"The heiress," the president also knew the answer for that one, "The princess. Of course."

"One word keeps being repeated, my Lord, one constant word surrounds them all: Earth."

The Visionary continued with her chanter, "Earth. Earth. Earth! Earth! Earth...!"

"The planet Earth, indigenous species, the human race," the Time Lord explained as a hologramatic projection of Earth appeared above the table.

"Maybe that's where the answer lies. Our salvation, on Earth," the president laughed.

~ 0 ~

The Master walked over to his newest prisoners; the Doctor was strapped to a chair with a strap across his mouth, Minerva & Wilf in regular chairs only Minerva with her hands tied up with a hot material should she want to try something Moontsay.

The Master leaned down to the Doctor, "Now, then. I've got a planet to run," he chuckled and moved to the center of the room, "Is everybody ready?"

Naismith/the Master was running the things from the lab and responded, "6,727,949,338 versions of us awaiting orders."

The president/Master appeared on the screen in the main office, "This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defences."

A general/Master from Geneva then appeared on the screen, "UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir."

A commisoner/Master from Beijing appeared next, "And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over 2.5 million soldiers, sir. Present arms!"

Everyone heard the army making their response with their rifles.

The Master responded with a laughter and turned back to the others, making his way back, "Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say...Doctor? What's that? Pardon? Sorry?"

"You let him go, you swine," Wilf snapped.

"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss."

"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was."

The Master put his finger on his lips, "Hush, now. Listen to your Master."

"You bastard," Minerva spat as Wilf's cellphone went off again.

The Master was too shocked to respond to Minerva's remark, "But that…that's a mobile."

"Yeah, it's mine, let me turn it off."

"No, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet...is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" the Master knelt down and searched Wilf.

"It's nobody. Probably some ring-back call," Wilf tried to say.

The Master found the revolver and waved it to the pair, "Ooh, and look at this. Good man!' he dropped it to the floor and continued searching until finding the phone, "Donna. Who's Donna?"

"You leave her alone," Minerva immediately said.

He answered the phone and heard a voice that was most certainly not his.

~ 0 ~

"Gramps... Don't hang up. You've got to help me," Donna was out of breath as she hid in the alley behind her house, "I ran out. Everyone was changing. Why won't you tell me what's going on!?"

~ 0 ~

"Who is she? Why didn't she change?" the Master demanded, Minerva only smirking as a response.

"Gramps, I can't hear you," they heard Donna on the speaker of the phone, "Where's Minerva? Where's the Doctor? Are you there?"

"Find her. Trace the call," the Master ordered, "Say goodbye to the freak, Grandad," he pressed the phone to Wilf who was still calling for you.

"Donna, get out of there!" Wilf exclaimed, "Look, Just get out of there! Run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," a technician/the Master called.

"Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane - red alert," Naismith/the Master ordered.

"But what's going on? What can I do?" Donna asked Wilf, the man looking at the alien pair for help.

"She needs to run," Minerva answered him.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all. Run for your life!"

~ 0 ~

Donna was running up until she saw one of the Master's blocking the end of the way. She looked back and saw another coming towards her, "But there's more of them. Who the hell are you!?" she demanded but more were coming out, "They're everywhere..." she breathed.

"Oh, I'm starving," one of the Masters declared.

"I'm still hungry!" added another.

Donna looked around as they advanced on her and dropped her phone, a deep scowl forming on her face, "Alright, you've done something to my family and friends and I don't stand for that. Eat snow and ice!" she shouted and thrust her hands to her sides. Snow dropped from no where and pushed all the Master's down then ice which kept them all stuck in their positions with no way out. Donna dusted her hands off and stepped around, "Hm," she continued walking off with her phone with a new sense of pride.

~ 0 ~

At the silence, the Master looked at the Doctor and walked over and removed the gag from his mouth. The Doctor frowned and began speaking, "That's better. Hello. But in reality the one you want is my wife, that's all her," he smirked, "Isn't she just...?"

"Amazing? Clever? Why yes, thank you," Minerva battered her eyes, "I believe I forgot to mention that my ginger sister is also part Moontsay. She's got the abilities I have and more than capable of taking down any of your little clones. Try it again and I promise you I won't hesitate to end you."

"But what's happened to her?" Wilf asked, the phone line having ended.

"She'll be okay, she can protect herself and hide," the Doctor assured.

The Master, having enough, let the strange woman go and focused on the more important aspect, "Tell me where the TARDIS is," he demanded from the Doctor.

"You could be so wonderful," the Doctor sighed, "Could've been..."

"If he hadn't tried to be a murderer," Minerva finished sourly.

'Where is it?" the Master repeated his demand.

"You're a genius. You're stone-cold brilliant. You are, I swear, you really are," the Doctor admitted, "But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor, 'cause you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."

"Tell me, what would your wife say?" he teased.

"I'd say stop all this and let's go," Minerva surprised him, "I don't like you but you're the last person of my husband's people and I respect that. Not just that, but you used to be best friends, remember that?"

"How big of you," he rolled his eyes, "But what about that noise?" he tapped his head, "Would that noise in my head stop?"

"We can help," the Doctor said.

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise."

"Probably less of a murderer," Minerva shrugged, "And less insane."

"What does he mean? What noise?" Wilf asked in confusion.

"It began on Gallifrey. As children," the Master began, solemn as he thought back, "Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?" Wilf looked at them all.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself," the Doctor explained.

"And it hurts, apparently," Minerva shook her head, "And I'm really sorry but if we ever have children they will _not_ be doing any of that," she said to him, dead serious, "No searching that for our children, _ever_."

The Doctor just smiled, the only thing hearing in that sentence being ' _our children'_...

"They took me there, in the dark," the Master continued, eyeing the other two aliens with distaste, "I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums, the never-ending drums. Listen to it," he looked at them all, "Listen."

"I have," Minerva reminded, crinkling her nose at the reminder, "Even as an echo it was just...awful..." she looked at the man, for once, with sorrow. She nearly went mad in that short time she'd been forced to listen to that maniacal drumbeat; she couldn't imagine having to listen to them to an entire lifetime - lifetimes.

"Oh, oh wait a minute," the Master suddenly stood up, "Oh, yes, oh that's good!"

"What? What is?" the Doctor asked.

"The noise exists within my head. And now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh... Oh, yes!" he laughed but suddenly he had another skeletal flash and dropped into a crouch.

"The Gate wasn't enough. You're still dying," the Doctor remarked.

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," he stood with a small grunt, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, "the end of time.""

"Something is returning. We were shown a prophecy. That's why we need your help."

"What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source! Oh, Doctor... That's what your prophecy was. Me!" the Master slapped the Doctor and laughed before asking, "Where's the TARDIS?"

"No. Just stop. Just think."

"Kill her," the Master pointed at Minerva.

"Wha-hey!" she frowned as a helmeted soldier walked over to her and aimed his gun at her, "Are you really going to do this again?"

"I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or your precious wife is dead."

"I thought we were over this," Minerva sighed, not at all perturbed, "At this point, I'm going to use up my entire cycle because of you."

"I'll kill her, right now! I have once and I'll do it again!"

"Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid," the Doctor remarked, just as calm as Minerva was.

"Take aim," the Master rolled his neck while the soldier aimed.

"You know, I should get a gun and point it at you," Minerva muttered, "See how you like it."

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?" the Doctor continued, suppressing his small amused laugh of his wife.

"Like what?" the Master asked.

"That guard is one inch too tall."

As soon as the Master turned to look at the soldier he was hit with the rifle. The soldier took off his helmet to reveal he was Rossitier, the male Vinvocci, "Oh, my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life," he breathed.

"Great, great, now untie!" Minerva shuffled in her seat as Miss Addams came into the room to begin the untie.

"Ouch, that's hot!" the woman hissed as she untied Minerva.

"Thanks, I've noticed," Minerva raised her hands and moved them around, "I tell you, so many times they've been burnt you'd think I'd be used to it."

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf sighed as the woman moved on to untie him, meanwhile Minerva and Rossiter went to the Doctor.

"That's cacti," the Doctor corrected.

"That's racist!" Rossiter snapped.

"Shut up!" Minerva ordered, "There's too many buckles and straps on this thing," her hands fiddled with the restraints on her husband.

"Come on! We've got to get out," Miss Adams already had Wilf done, "Just...wheel him."

"Sorry dear," Minerva sighed and gave the Doctor a quick kiss.

"No, no, no! Minerva! Get me out!" the man cried but was already being pushed out by Rossiter, "No, no, don't! Don't! No, no, no..."

"Which way?" Rossiter asked as they entered the corridors.

"This way," Miss Adams called.

"No, we've got the TARDIS," Minerva tried to say.

"I know what I'm doing!"

The Doctor's eyes widened as he saw stairs approaching, "Not the stairs... Not the stairs!"

"Sorry, Martian!" Minerva winced as she heard the Doctor grunting in pain with each bump his chair was pushed down to.

"Worst...rescue...ever!"

Miss Addams led the way into the tech room under the lab with the rest behind her. Unfortunately, the Master/guards appeared and blocked the room, the original Master arriving with a smile, "Gotcha."

"You think so?" Miss Addams raised an eyebrow and pressed her watch, making all of them disappear.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva, get me out of this right now!" the Doctor ordered as soon as they appeared on the Vinvocci ship in outer-space.

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Miss Addams frowned, Minerva working to liberate the man.

"He's not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out!"

Wilf was looking out the window, seeing the new view before them, "Oh, my goodness me...we're in space!" he looked down at the Earth.

"Come on!" the Doctor urged.

"Doctor, shut up!" Minerva nearly yelled while she and Miss Addams worked to set him free.

"Get a move on!"

'Doctor I swear to God!" she smacked him on the arm.

"Here, just...here!" he wiggled and took out his screwdriver for her.

She took it and used it on the control panels, making them explode immediately. Finally, he was free and jumped to his feet, taking his sonic back.

"Where's your flight deck?" he looked back at Miss Addams.

"But we're safe! We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth."

"And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to fire!"

She blinked, "Good point," and she quickly led the way.

Minerva hurried to Wilf and took him by the arm, "But we're in space!" he had his wide eyes looking at the planet.

"Isn't it amazing?" she asked, both chuckling afterwards.

~ 0 ~

"We've got to close it down!" the Doctor was saying as they hurried down the corridors of the ship.

"No chance, mate, we're going home," Rossiter declared as they entered the new room.

"We're a salvage team. Local politics has nothing to do with us," Miss Addams shook her head, "Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better."

"Oh you're not leaving," Minerva scoffed as the Doctor used the sonic and made the entire ship go dead.

"Sh!" the Doctor put his finger on his lips as the ship quieted down, only a slight creak making a noise.

Miss Addams looked around with wide eyes, going to several monitors and controls, trying them out, "No sign of any missiles... No sign of...anything. You've wrecked the place!"

"The engines are burnt out. Just auxiliary lights," Rossiter said with distaste, "Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck, in orbit."

"Thanks to you. You idiot!" Miss Addams stormed out of the room.

"I know you, though. I bet you've got a plan, haven't you?" Wilf looked at the man, glancing occasionally at Minerva, "Eh? Come on! You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flimflam, ha-ha-ha, sort of thing? Eh?" but all he received was a solemn look, "Oh blimey..."

~ 0 ~

The Master stood in the office room, having given up on finding the missing perpetrators for the moment as the figured out the origin of the drumbeats, "Night has fallen. Are we ready?"

"Every single one of us is prepared," Naismith/ the Master responded.

"Then we listen, all of us, across the world. Just...listen," the Master closed his eyes followed by the rest of the Master clones, "Concentrate. Find the signal," silence was heard for a couple of minutes before... "There. The sound is tangible. Someone could only have designed this. But who?"

~ 0 ~

The Time Lord stood before the president, "The signal has been sent. A simple task of four beats transmitted back through time, and implanted in the Master's mind as a child."

"Then we have a link, to where the Master is right now," the president looked at the Earth hologram over the table.

"But we're still trapped inside the Time Lock, sir. The link is nothing more than...a thought, an idea."

"Then we need something to make the contact physical. Something...so simple.

At that, the Visionary looked up from her papers, mumbling, "So small and shining, shining bright and cold, the tiny, tiny star, falling, falling, burning, burning, burning."

The president immediately captured the idea and stood up, motioning for his staff to be handed over. He tool of a jewel, a diamond, at the top of the staff's head and smiled, "Small enough to follow the link. And if this were on Earth..." he chucked the diamond into the hologram.

~ 0 ~

While the Doctor worked on wiring in the Vinvocci ship, Minerva was standing at the window with a grim face, blankly staring out. Her mind couldn't stop thinking of her human family, stuck as...Masters. She should be furious at the man for doing this to them...but she just felt like sobbing, sobbing over her lost family. She just wanted them back.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a meteor flying through space, heading for Earth. She frowned as she stated at it, something not..quite right with it.

"Doctor?" she called quietly, not wanting to alarm the others.

They were far too afraid of their current situation and she didn't want to add one more problem. Silently, the Doctor walked over as she pointed ahead to the meteor...

~ 0

"The sound...it's coming from above," Naismith/ the Master declared.

"It's coming from the sky!" the Master realized and rushed out of the room, a few guards behind him. He ran out to the balcony and looked up, "There!" he pointed at a trail in the sky, "Get out there and find it!"

"Yes, sir," the guards/Master's nodded and headed off.

~ 0 ~

The soldiers/Master's arrived at the sight of the meteor crash and started searching the area until one of them spotted a glittering object not too far.

"It's a diamond, sir," the guard/Master pocked up the jewel that had been chucked at the hologram, "Oh... the most impossible diamond. You won't believe this. It's a Whitepoint star!"

Stunned, the Master tool a moment and suddenly let out a big laughter at what that meant, going skeletal again.

~ 0 ~

Wilf was walking through a corridor of the Vinvocci ship, searching for the Doctor and Minerva, "Hello? Hello?" he could hear clanging from a romantic and headed for it, "Is that you, Doctor? Minerva?" he entered a large room only to find it empty, "Anyone? Oh, I think I'm lost."

"And yet you are found," he heard behind him. He turned to see the woman in white he'd been seeing all around standing behind him, "Events are closing. The day is almost upon us. But tell me, old soldier, did you take arms?"

Wilf pulled the revolver from his pocket, "I brought this. But...what am I supposed to do?"

"This is the Doctor's final battle. At the end of his life, he must stand at arms, or lose himself and all this world, to the end of time."

"But he...he never carries guns. He doesn't do... Who are you?"

"I was lost... so very long ago."

Wilf looked down at his gun for a moment, realizing the woman has vanished as soon as he'd done so.

~ 0 ~

Eventually, Wilf found the alien pair in another room where the Doctor was working on a couple wires. Wilf made his way over, "Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor mumbled, occasionally sparing Minerva some glances. He knew he shouldn't worry that much over the cold but there was always that little voice inside his head, or in his case voices, telling him he shouldn't set her in situations that tested her heat/cold resistance.

"You doing okay, Wilf?" Minerva softly asked, seeing him as the last human they were able to save. She kept looking back at the window to Earth and what her human family had become. She didn't even want to think where Donna was managing to hide herself in the meantime they figured it out. Everything put her on edge and it wouldn't stop until they'd stop the Master

Wilf sat down beside the Doctor and just nodded to Minerva, "D'you know, I've always dreamed of a view like that," he looked at the window ahead of them and chuckled, "I'm an astronaut."

"I used to dream for the same thing," Minerva said, moving to sit beside the Doctor, "Course my sky was a bit dull...and gray," she made a face, "...lots and lots of gray."

Wilf chuckled again but faded as he looked at the window again, "It's dawn over England, look," he nodded ahead, "Brand new day..."

"What a day..." Minerva mumbled.

"My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now," Wilf sighed and looked at the two to his left, "D'you think he changed them, in their graves?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, though he knew it didn't mean much.

"It's not your fault," Minerva looked at him and reached for his hand.

"Isn't it?"

He knew where her mind had wandered to upon hearing Wilf's question; he could see it in her eyes. She wondered if her sweet ole grandfather and big sister had been changed as well. He felt awful for that, because of course it was his fault. The Master was his responsibility, his enemy...and yet he managed to kill his wife, take over Earth, torture his wife and friends, then change the entire race of humans.

"It's not," Minerva declared and kissed his cheek, "Don't you dare blame yourself because Wilf and I won't allow it, will we Wilf?" she cast a glance at the man.

"No," he shook his head and looked ahead again, "You know, 1948 I was over there," he nodded, "End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was, stood on this rooftop, the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad. Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're older than you," the Doctor admitted with a small smile.

"Get away," Wilf waved them off.

"I'm 906, and she's-"

"He's 906," Minerva had covered the Doctor's mouth with a sweet smile, "That is all."

Wilf chuckled lightly, "Really, though?"

"Yeah, he's old," Minerva shook her head.

"Oh please," the Doctor pushed her hand down, "You're 903, time to accept it, dear."

"No, I'm 21," she huffed and looked to the side.

"900 years..." Wilf breathed, still stuck on the information, "We must look like insects to you two."

"We think you look like giants," the Doctor smiled at him.

Wilf paused for a minute then took out his revolver, holding it out to the Doctor, "Listen, I...I want you to have this. I've kept it all this time, and I thought..."

But the Doctor shook his head, "No."

"No, but if you take it, you could..."

"No. You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then."

"Too scared, I suppose," Wilf admitted.

"I'd be proud."

"Of what?"

"If you were my dad."

"Oh, come on, don't start," Wilf chuckled, flustered.

Minerva smiled, "You remind me of my human grandfather, you know," she gripped the Doctor's hand in hers, "And personally, I could see you being a dad to this Martian over here," she chuckled, "And I would definitely be fine with it, seeing how this one would actually like me."

The Doctor sadly smiled at her, "They would've came around to the idea."

She shook her head, her smile none-faded, "You don't have to lie to me. Your parents married you off to another for a reason, a Moontsay is too primitive. You really think your father would've allowed for you to run off with me?"

He didn't like to think of that, all the hatred spewed at his wife...it was unjustified. Nearly every Time Lord had an unjustified hatred for the Monsoon and its people. His own family became divided over the issue of the Moontsays. Some uncles/aunts showed their hatred for the Moontsays with speeches about them, others with lessons to the children of how big of abominations the Moontsays were. Although he did have to admit that not all of his family hated Moontsays. Some showed neutralism, others actual like for Moontsays. But even with that neutralism and like he never did have the courage to tell his parents, to demand, that he be able to marry who he loved and not who they wanted. They never found out that he had fallen in love with a Moontsay, and not just any Moontsay, the bloody _princess_. Oh, if they would see her now, he was just sure that all that senseless hatred would vanish. Who wouldn't like Minerva?

"What are you talking about?" Wilf asked, confused of the talk.

Minerva looked at him with a sad smile of her own, "My people, the Moontsays, and Time Lords hate each other very much. And it's ironic, cos we're of the same species."

"Why so much hatred, then?"

"Because we can change our faces like them," she shrugged, "And have ice powers. They thought we would overthrow them if we figured out how to change our faces on command like they could..."

"We were forbidden to make contact with Moontsays," the Doctor sighed, playing with Minerva's fingers in his hand.

"Our love was...forbidden, like a star-crossed story," Minerva chuckled at the cliche, "It took us centuries to get to where we are."

"But you said...you were told..." Wilf looked at the Doctor, "...he will knock four times and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it, the Master? That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you.

"Yeah," the Doctor swallowed hard.

Wilf shook his head, "If you worked hard to be with your wife then don't allow that man to kill you. Kill him first," he held the gun out.

"And that's how the Master started. It's not like I'm an innocent. I've taken lives. I got worse - I got _clever_. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long."

"But it's not like you wanted to do it," Minerva frowned, "You did what you had to do because there was nothing else to do."

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf asked him.

"I don't know..."

"Doctor, what happens?"

"The template snaps."

"What, they go back to being human?" Wilf asked again and upon the Doctor nodding yes he held the gun out again, "They're alive and human? Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you _dare_ put him before them. Now you take this, that's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life. And please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die!" Wilf broke into a sob as he forced the Doctor's hand over the gun.

Minerva stifled her own quiet sob and hugged her husband. The Doctor gripped her by the waist and tugged her closer while pushing Wilf's gun away, "Never," he declared.

"A star...fell from the sky..." they suddenly heard the Master's voice over the ship's tannoy, "Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor. The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond. And the diamond...is a Whitepoint star. And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching, Doctor. This should be...spectacular. Over and out."

"What's he on about? What's he doing?" Wilf frowned and looked at the pair, "Doctor, what does that mean?"

"A Whitepoint star is only found on one planet, Gallifrey, which means… it's the Time Lords. The Time Lords are returning," he shuddered a breath and felt Minerva stiffen at the news.

He knew she was terrified of that...and admittedly, so was he.

"Well, that's good, isn't it? That's your people," Wilf said...and then he remembered what he had just been told about the hatred between the pair's species.

The Doctor set Minerva apart and kissed her hair before grabbing Wilf's gun and rushed out of the room.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor rushed into the room and went straight to the PA and switched it on. Everyone then heard the four beats being repeated, like a loop.

"What's that?" Miss Addams asked.

Rossiter was checking the computers for the answer, "Coming from Earth," he called, "It's on every single wavelength."

~ 0 ~

Inside the Gallifreyan chamber, the president grinned with satisfaction, "Contact! At last!"

~ 0 ~

"We have contact," the Master declared.

~ 0 ~

The president strode forwards to face the other Time Lords in a large amphitheater, "Now the High Council of Time Lords must vote. Whether we die here, today, or return to the waking world and complete the Ultimate Sanction, for this is the hour when either Gallifrey falls, or Gallifrey rises!" he held up his staff high and waited as the other Time Lords responded.

"Gallifrey rises!" the response came with a cheer.

"Gallifrey rises!"

~ 0 ~

"But you said your people were dead, past tense," Wilf said to the Doctor as he worked on the equipment.

"Inside the Time War, when the whole War was time-locked - like, sealed inside a bubble. It's not a bubble but think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the time-lock. Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there."

"The signal. Since he was a kid," Wilf remembered.

"If they can follow the signal, they can escape, before they die."

"This won't be good," Minerva bit her nails nervously.

She felt her stomach churn at the idea of once again seeing more Time Lords. She loved the Doctor, she really did...but his people despised her and her own people. She could now remember the insults and the ridicule, the pitying and the belittlement. She didn't want to go through that again, especially without her parents anymore. It hit her at that moment that her parents wouldn't be there to protect her nor their planet anymore. She was princess - near queen - and it would be up to _her_ to protect her planet and people from any kind of threat.

"What? Wouldn't they help you, then?" Wilf asked the Doctor.

"I'm afraid not, Wilf," the Doctor sighed, "The Time Lords changed with the war. I mean, it's no surprise right? An endless war? It changed them right to the core. You've seen my enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them."

"Time Lords? What lords? Anyone want to explain?" Miss Addams demanded.

But the Doctor pointed a violent finger at her, "Right, you!This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"So, you've got asteroid lasers!"

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," Rossiter said.

"Consider them unfrazzled," the Doctor flipped a lever and two doors on opposite sides of the room slid open, " You there - I'm going to need you on navigation. And you, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred?"

"Yeah?"

"Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle!"

"Right," Wilf stood up and tapped the Doctor on the arm.

"This ship can't move. It's dead!" Miss Addams reminded sourly, remembering _who_ was at fault for that.

"Fix the heating," the Doctor pushed large levers on either side of the control panel and made the ship start up.

"But now they can see us."

"Oh, yes!"

"That's not good," Minerva reminded him, but he just winked.

Quickly, Rossiter and Wilf headed out for their tasks.

"What do you want me to do?" Minerva asked the Doctor, seriously.

"I want you to stay far away from this..."

She shook her head, "No," she said and took his hand, "Together."

"Minerva you and I both know what's happening and I would definitely prefer if the one person my people despise stays _far_ away from their location."

"I'm scared, okay, I admit it...but I won't run away. Things have changed and I stand by you through thick and thin, remember?" she took his hand and moved them for the wheel of the ship, "So let's do this. Together: the Time Lord & the Moontsay."

"Hold on there," Miss Addams followed them, "This is my ship and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel."

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain..." the Doctor began.

"Oh no..." Minerva mumbled.

"A phrase of great power, and wisdom..."

"Don't you dare," Minerva pointed at him.

He just started smirking, "And consolation to the soul in times of need..."

"Doctor," Minerva made a face.

He reached for her hand and kissed the back of it, "Allons-y!"

"Ah!" she made a frustrated groan.

"Hang on, dear," he ordered and she did, to his waist. He took control of the ship and drove it forwards planet Earth, "Come on!" the Doctor shouted as the ship started burning as it entered the atmosphere, "Come on!"

"You are blinkin', flippin' mad!" Miss Addams screamed as she clung onto a panel.

"That's my Martian," Minerva managed to chuckle.

~ 0 ~

"Hey," Wilf whistled from his spot in the laser pod, "How does this thing work?"

~ 0 ~

"The tracking's automatic. Just deploy the trigger on the joystick," Rossiter explained from his spot in the second pod.

~ 0 ~

Wilf tried getting the hang of the controls as his pod rotated, "Oh... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

~ 0 ~

"We've got incoming," Miss Addams looked at one of the screens in the flight deck.

"You two, open fire!" the Doctor ordered and took an evasive action.

But it took a bit longer than he thought it would as the two men/alien were still figuring out how to control the pods.

"Open fire! Come on, Wilf!" the Doctor cried.

~ 0 ~

Finally, Wilf & Rossiter fired at the incoming missiles and made the explode.

Wilf laughed, "Whoo! Oh, I wish Donna could see me now. Oh, she'll have a hoot!"

~ 0 ~

"And there's more. 16 of them. Oh! And another 16," Miss Addams sarcastically read.

"Go to the rear-gun lasers!" the Doctor ordered.

"I think I can help with that," Minerva let go of him and tried moving towards Miss Addams who was already heading for the doors.

"You two, open fire! NOW!" the Doctor called again, not too fond of Minerva leaving his side but as he evasively flew around he figured it was best for her to stay back, "No, you don't!" he swerved and sent the two women behind him back and forth across the room.

In a course of mere minutes the front window was blown away, the incoming missiles had been destroyed and the ship had done a outrageous spin.

"Lock the navigation!" he instructed behind him.

"Onto what?" Miss Addams looked at the controls around her.

"England! The Naismith mansion!"

~ 0 ~

The president returned to the chamber and remained where two more Time Lords stood with their hands over their faces, as if in shame, "The vote is taken. Only two stand against and will stand as monument to their shame, like the Weeping Angels of old. Now the vanguard stands prepared, as the children of Gallifrey return to the universe, to Earth," the president stood as they were engulfed in a bright light.

~ 0 ~

"Destination?" the Doctor glanced at Miss Addams.

"50 klicks and closing," Miss Addams responded.

"Doctor, please tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do..." she looked at him with a serious face.

The Doctor couldn't look back at her, he wore a grim determined expression on his face.

Miss Addams was not having any of this, "Doctor? We _are_ going to stop?"

The ship zoomed over the country side as Wilf and Rossiter re-entered the flight deck room, Wilf a bit serious, "Doctor! Doctor, you said you were going to die."

"He said what?!" Miss Addams looked between the two, horrified.

"But is that all of us? I won't stop you, sir, but is this it?"

The Doctor lifted a hatch from the flight deck floor with the gun in his hand. He looked up, no words for anyone, especially his wife.

Minerva stepped forwards, cautiously, "Don't you dare..." she warned, discreetly taking another step. If she could just reach him she could perhaps go with him, "Doc-" but the man jumped down, "NOO!" she screamed and ran for the hole, only to be held back by Wilf and Miss Addams, "MARTIAN!"

~ 0 ~

The Doctor crashed into the Naismith mansion, falling to the center of the room on his stomach with shattered glass all around. With a shaking hand that held the revolver, he aimed it at the president. Due to his fall, his arm dropped to the floor and so he tried standing up.

The president strode forwards, "My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end."

The Doctor laid on the floor, panting as he tried regaining some strength to do what he had to...

~ 0 ~

Miss Addams took control of the ship and started in the opposite direction.

"I need you to land this thing," Minerva ordered, shaking off Wilf from her arm.

"We are not going in there," the alien shook her head.

"I don't think you understand," Minerva snapped, " _That_ is my husband and I was not _asking_ you, I am _ordering_ you to land this ship!"

"And just who the hell do you think you are?" Miss Addams placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head expectantly.

Minerva stepped forwards, "Minerva, better known as Kaeya, princess of the Monsoon. Look me up, we'll be doing business together for our planets. But for now, I order you to bring me to that mansion. Afterwards, you can leave - I don't care, just do it."

Miss Addams sighed and changed the direction of the ship.

~ 0 ~

With a grunt, the Doctor was able to sit on his legs, still far too weak for more, "Listen to me. You can't…"

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child," the president motioned with a wicked smile.

"Oh, he's not saving you. Don't you realize what he's doing?"

"Hey, no, hey! That's mine. Hush," the Master ordered, "Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mr President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!"

The president, less than amused, held his gauntlet-covered hand up as it glowed and made the humans return to normal.

"No, don't...! No, no, no, stop it! No, no! No, no! Don't!" the Master looked around in horror at his work being undone.

"On your knees, mankind," the president ordered and the humans knelt down, afraid.

"No, that's fine, that's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that," the Master reminded.

"The approach begins," the president looked up as a low rumbling began and the room grew brighter.

"Approach of what?!"

"Something is returning. Don't you ever listen?" the Doctor could quite frankly strangle the man at this point, "That was the prophecy. Not someone, _something_."

"What is it?"

"They're not just bringing back the species. It's Gallifrey. Right here, right now."

~ 0 ~

Above the planet Earth appeared a bright, glowing red planet...

~ 0 ~

Shaun and Sylvia, now back to normal as well, rushed out of the house after everything began shaking. People ran out in the streets, screaming in terror as Gallifrey loomed closer.

"Donna? Donna! Donna!" Shaun called and ran off to go find the ginger.

"Oh, Doctor, Minerva...please!" Sylvia whispered in hope.

~ 0 ~

The Master was on one knee, still horrified at what had just happened to his work, while the humans ran from the room in screams. The Master was staring at the president with anger, "But I...I did this. I get the credit! I'm on your side."

Minerva strode into the room, quite angry, "Doctor?" she looked around and froze as she saw the rest of the Time Lords.

No one saw Wilf going to release one of the technicians stuck inside the booths.

"Is that a Moontsay I smell?" the president crinkled his nose.

"Behold little pet," the Master said, earning a glare from Minerva, "The Time Lords restored."

"You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born," the Doctor snapped, not about to let all the dangerous attention fall on Minerva, "But if the time-lock's broken, then everything's coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres, the War turning to hell. And that's what you opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!"

"My kind of world," the Master smirked.

"Just listen! 'Cause even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

"We will initiate the Final Sanction. The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue, until it rips the Time Vortex apart," the president explained, still eyeing Minerva behind.

"That's suicide," Minerva frowned.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone, free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be."

"You're going to kill us all...again!"

"Tell me little one, how do you stand before me in this era?"

The Doctor stood up and looked back at Minerva, a pleading look on his face telling her to go away, get as far as she could from here. Minerva shuddered a breath and calmed for a moment, trying to ease her small trembles, "I survived, clearly," she answered the question, "So, in a sense...my planet did a lot better than yours."

The president wasn't one for taking sarcasm, much less from a Moontsay, "Moontsays are-"

"I'd finish that sentence carefully if I were you," Minerva cut him off, swallowing hard to continue garnering boldness she desperately needed, "Because, unlike my parents, I outright refuse to allow you this superiority power over us. I stand here, living proof that Moontsays are just as good as you are - as good as all Time Lords are. I triggered what my people have been trying to do for centuries and rest assure I will not be the last."

"Impossible," the president spat.

"My mother regenerated, I followed her in steps."

"You and the rest of your kind-"

"Your kind as well," Minerva did a mock bow, " _President_."

"You are all abominations," the man immediately declared frantically, as if trying to get control back from her.

The Doctor had had enough and finally rose to his feet, even if he still wasn't quite there yet. He held Minerva's hand in his own, gripping it and letting her know he was right there. Alive or dying, himself or a new man, she would never be alone and she would never face anything on her own, "If they were abominations then you wouldn't have gone through so much trouble for a crystal they owned."

"You were willing to wipe my people out for a crystal that didn't even _belong_ to you," Minerva glared at the president, "A crystal my entire family fell to protect."

"Oh come now, it wasn't just us. The Daleks were after it too," the president reminded, "It was either them or us. Clearly I went with 'us'."

"You intended to wipe part of your own species and now you're going to do it to another innocent species?"

"We will ascend to glory," the president said.

"All of us?" Minerva raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the Master, "Because I think one of us...the Master...was used," she declared.

"Bite your tongue," the man snapped, "I will ascent to glory as well."

"You are diseased, albeit a disease of our own making," the president corrected, "No more," he held his gauntlet and allowed the energy to hum as it powered up...

...when the sound of a clicking noise cut in.

It was the Doctor, now aiming the revolver at the president. With a free hand, he placed Minerva a step away from him, being between the president & the Master was not a place he wanted her in.

"Choose your enemy well. We are many. The Master is but one," the president said plainly.

"But he's the President. Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!" the Master argued back. The Doctor turned to him and aimed the revolver, "He's to blame, not me!" but then he realized, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it."

Minerva watched in horror as she watched her husband turn the revolver back to the president, "Martian, don't do this..." she spoke softly, "...there's always another way, please. This isn't my husband...please."

"Shush," the Master glared at her, "Go on," he urged the Doctor, "It's not just me, it's him. He's the link, kill him!"

"The final act of your life is murder," the president said, unperturbed, "But which one of us?"

The Doctor had so many things running through his head but everything stopped when he looked behind the president and saw one of the face-covered dissenters lower her hands from her face. He blinked as he saw the woman clearly, his breathing hitching when his _mother_ looked back with tears running down her face. For a moment, they looked at each other until her eyes drifted to the side. The Doctor followed her new gaze to see Minerva, that was only staring at him with her own tears. His face softened when they looked at each other again, seeing his mother actually giving a small smile...

...she approved.

She then motioned with her eyes behind her and suddenly, the room found the Doctor switching aims once more back at the Master who looked a bit sad.

"Get out of the way," the Doctor ordered and with a smile the Master dove to the side as the Doctor shot the device that held the diamond and link. The machine burst into flames and so the Doctor lowered the revolver, "The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell."

~ 0 ~

Outside, Gallifrey began to flicker out of existence...

~ 0 ~

"You'll die with me, Doctor," Rassilon declared.

"I know..." the Doctor spared a glance at Minerva.

"No..." she rushed forwards, uncaring of the consequences.

"Get away-"

"No," she gripped onto him, "If you die, I die with you...and that's okay..." she smiled sadly, "...I'm okay with that."

"Get out of the way," they heard the Master order behind them. The two got out of the way just as the Master shot a bolt of energy to Rassilon on the chest, making the man stagger back, "You did this to me! All of my life! You made me!" with each step he took forwards he struck each bolt, "One! Two! Three! FOUR!"

With that, he was pulled off with the rest of the Time Lords, Gallifrey disappearing once more.

The Doctor & Minerva were on the floor, with their hands locked together as they took realization of their surroundings. The Doctor pulled them to sit up, "I'm alive. I've... There was..." he looked at her with a wide grin, "And you..." he reached to touch her face, "...you're okay. You're not hurt."

They stood up and hugged tightly, giving each other a deep kiss that basked in the survival...

But there came four knocks that made them freeze.

The four knocks repeated twice before the two turned to see Wilf inside the booth. He tapped again and gave a little wave, "They've gone, then? Good-oh. If you could let me out...?"

"Yeah..." the Doctor mumbled, his hand dropping to Minerva's.

"Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise."

"The Master...left the nuclear bolt running. It's gone into overload."

Wilf's smile faded as he looked back, "And that's bad, is it?"

"No...'cause all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All 500,000 rads, about to flood that thing."

"Oh," Wilf chuckled, "Well, you'd better let me out, then."

"Except it's gone critical. Touch one control and it floods," the Doctor took out the sonic, "Even this would set it off."

Wilf now realized what that would mean for the poor man, "I'm sorry..."

"Sure..."

Minerva rushed towards the booths and tried looking around for anything, something that could prevent this awful prophecy from coming true.

"Look, just leave me," Wilf sighed.

"Don't say nonsense," Minerva went around the booths, intently searching. There had to be something!

"Right, then...I will," the Doctor sarcastically said as he paced back and forth, "Cause you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh, yes! 'Cause that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time."

"No, really, just leave me. I'm an old man. I've had my time, you go on, you and Minerva. Get out of here," Wilf nodded with seriousness.

"Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more," the Doctor yelled to the ceiling, "So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!" he pushed items off a nearby desk and breathed heavily, "Ohhh... Lived too long," he started for the booths.

"N-n-n-n-no! No," Minerva stood in front of the door of the empty booth, "We can do something!"

"Minerva, it's alright, I can-"

"No!" she shut her eyes and shook her head, her hands opened on either side to block the way, "We can do something! We-we...we can...um...we can, I don't know...me!" she opened her eyes, her teary eyes, "Me! Let me do it! I can go in there and..."

"Don't you dare," he leaned down and Eskimo kissed her, receiving no laughter, chuckle nor smile afterwards from her. With his fingers he rubbed away her tears from her cheeks, "I promised you, you'd never have to regenerate for me again. This is one promise I am keeping to you."

"Martian, please..." her voice broke, "...I don't mind, really. I think-I think I can do it. It should be automatic now..."

"No need," he gently kissed her then moved her to the side and looked at Wilf, his hand on the door, "Wilfred...it's my honor. Better be quick. Three, two, one," he stepped inside and pressed a button that released Wilf.

As Wilf got out, Minerva rushed to hug him, happy that he would be okay and yet terribly upset her husband would die. The Doctor groaned and slid down the floor of the booth, writhing in pain. He curled up in pain while the other two could only simply watch until the machine switched off. Slowly, he unwound and sat up.

"What...? Hello," Wilf said in confusion.

"Hi," the Doctor looked around.

"Still with us?"

He stood up with a gasp, "The system's dead. I absorbed it all. Whole thing's kaput," he put his hand on the door which then opened, "Oh, _now_ it opens, yeah," he stepped out.

"There we are then, safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there."

The Doctor covered his face and the sound of sizzling emerged. When he put his hands down, his face had been completely healed. Minerva left Wilf's side and came up to her Martian, her hands going up to rest on either side of his face, "Oh my Martian..." she breathed shakily.

"But they've... Your face! How did you do that?" Wilf blinked.

"It's started," the Doctor replied as he took his clever girl for a hug, closing his eyes.

Wilf could only stare sadly with tears in his eyes.

~ 0 ~

At the sounds of the TARDIS materializing, Donna, Sylvia and Shaun rushed out of the house.

"What...what is that?" Shaun pointed at the blue box as Wilf, Minerva & the Doctor were coming out from it.

"Oh, yes...about that..." Donna looked around before dashing off to go see her friends and grandfather.

"D-Donna?" Shaun called, confused, as he looked at Sylvia for some help. The woman just shrugged and entered the house.

"Don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf," the Doctor said to the man, "We don't plan on leaving our family."

"No," Minerva agreed.

"Where are you going?"

"To get my reward," the Doctor nodded.

"Oi, oi, is anyone finally going to tell me what happened?" Donna arrived out of breath.

"Did you just run away from the truth?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, " _Literally_?"

"Um..."

"Donna, I swear to god," Minerva shook her head, "Go and tell that man who we are and what you are. And...we'll see you in Spring for your wedding," she hugged her ginger sister.

"But...but what happened?" Donna looked at the Doctor, sensing something was deeply wrong.

"Nothing," the Doctor gave her a hug as well, "See you Spring."

With that, the pair entered the TARDIS and dematerialized.

~ 0 ~

Martha Jones - Smith - ran down a paved area, dressed in black and with a rifle. Something fired behind her and so she rushed and ducked behind a concrete wall where Mickey was waiting for her.

"I told you to stay behind," he scolded.

"You looked like you needed help. Besides, you're the one who persuaded me to go freelance," she reminded, "I swear if UNIT finds out..."

"And they will not," he covered her mouth, not about to let that one turn into another argument, "Yeah, but we're being fired at by a Sontaran. A dumpling with a gun. And this is no place for a married woman."

"Well, then. You shouldn't have married me," she pointed with a smirk.

The Sontaran stood on a catwalk in the warehouse they were in. Just as he was about to fire, there was a crash and he fell to the floor.

The Doctor & Minerva stood behind it, watching the Jones' as they looked into a map, "If we go in here and down to the factory floor and down past that corridor, then he won't know that we're here..." Mickey was saying.

Martha looked up and saw the pair and gasped, "Mickey!" she shook him and nodded up.

Mickey looked back and smiled, "Hey!"

The Doctor took another look and headed off. Minerva remained for a couple more minutes with teary eyes before walking away. Sensing something dire was occurring (or about to occur), the Smith's hugged as they heard the TARDIS dematerializing.

~ 0 ~

Luke Smith was walking down the street, chabbering on in his cellphone, "That was the maddest Christmas ever, Clyde. Mum doesn't know what happened. She got Mr Smith to put out a story saying wi-fi went mad, all over the world, giving everyone hallucinations. How else do you explain it?" he crossed the street without looking, "Everyone with a different face..."

The Doctor ran and pulled Luke to safety as a car honked its horn. Luke looked up with blinking eyes, "But it's you! You're..."

"Mum!" Luke called and actually looked before crossing the street, "Mum!"

Sarah Jane came rushing down at the calls, "What? What is it?"

"It's him. It's the Doctor," Luke pointed.

Sarah Jane looked back to the TARDIS, Minerva waiting fro the Doctor at its doors while he unlocked them. Minerva spared a glance at the woman and son before entering the box. The Doctor raised his hand in a small wave to them, Sarah Jane smiling sadly as he entered as well.

~ 0 ~

Jack Harkness sat in a bar with a drink in his hand, receiving a note from the bartender, "From the man and woman over there," the bartender pointed over his shoulder.

Jack looked up and saw the Doctor and Minerva sitting across and with a nod Jack went ahead and opened up the note reading, 'His name is Alonso'. Jack looked up to see Minerva with a small smile pointing to the man that sat beside him, Alonso Frame. The Doctor then saluted with a finger to his forehead, Jack immediately giving back a proper salute. The Doctor took Minerva's hand and led her away.

"So, Alonso, going my way?" Jack turned to the man beside.

"How do you know my name?" Alonso blinked.

"I'm kinda psychic," Jack shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack smiled, laughing as he finished up his drink.

~ 0 ~

A woman, Verity Newman, was signing her book for a customer, "No, it's not just a story, no. Every word of it is true. I found my great grandmother's diary in the loft. She was a nurse in 1913, and she had a friend who was posing as the headmaster's sister. Miss Greene, she called her during the time, and she even saved my grandmother! She, along with the man named John Smith, a visitor from another world, saved the world. She wrote it all down."

Verity closed the book and slid it to the man, "Thank you," he replied and went on.

Two more customers came up and pressed their book on the table, Verity opening up the cover to sign it, "And who's it for?"

"The Doctor."

"And Minerva."

"To the Doctor and Minerva,"" Verity scribbled down, "Funny, that's the name they used..." she looked up.

"Was she okay?" Minerva asked softly, "Was she happy?"

"Yes. Yes, she was. Were you?"

Minerva picked up the book with a shy smile and took the Doctor's hand before walking off.

~ 0 ~

Donna and Shaun exited the church to greet the cheers of their guests, newly married of course. Donna laughed and showed off her ring.

"Three cheers. Hip, hip..." Wilf began.

"Hooray!" the rest ended.

"Hip, hip..."

"Hooray!"

Hip, hip..."

"Hooray!"

"Right then, you two get over here!" Donna promptly grabbed the hands of Minerva and the Doctor, pulling her into a picture along with Shaun, "Can't have a proper picture without my clever sister...and her spaceman husband."

"Can I have another nickname?" the Doctor actually managed to give a joking pout.

"Nope," Donna popped the 'p' and organized them for a picture, "Shaun!"

'Right here!" he quickly said. He was still eyeing the alien pair a bit funny, he'd been told who they were and, well...it was weird. Weird to know his wife was part alien with snow powers because apparently her 'clever sister' was a snow princess who nearly died and whatnot...

"Cheese!" the group went and the photo was taken.

"Right, we gotta go," Minerva informed sadly.

Donna looked between them with a sad smile, "Thank you," she sincerely said, giving both a hug, "And I'll be waiting down here for my visits."

"We will," the Doctor managed a smile back.

With that, the pair went off towards the TARDIS. On their way, they bumped into Sylvia and Wilf who had been watching the celebration with joy.

"And here you are, same old face. Didn't I tell you you'd be all right?" Wilf chuckled, "Oh! They've arrested Mr Naismith. It was on the news. Crimes undisclosed. And his daughter. Both of 'em, locked up. Yeah, but I keep thinking, Doctor, there's one thing you never told me. That woman. Who was she?"

The Doctor looked at Minerva with a small genuine smile, "Important, that's all."

Minerva leaned on his arm and contently sighed for that one, now knowing what had happened during that little moment. It was nice to know that at least...not everyone from his family hated her.

The Doctor reached inside his pocket and handed a small envelope to Wilf, "We forgot to give this to Donna. It's a wedding present. Thing is, I never carry money. So we just popped back in time, borrowed a quid off a really lovely man. Geoffrey Noble, his name was. "Have it," he said," Sylvia gasped, "Have that on me."

The pair went inside the TARDIS while Sylvia and Wilf went back to Donna with the envelope.

"Oh, don't tell me, it's a bill. Just what I need, right now," Donna rolled her eyes, "A lottery ticket? Who's this from?"

"Who do you think?" Wilf raised an eyebrow.

Donna smiled softly, "Oh those two," she sighed, "Anyways, Shaun! Come on, we're on a tight schedule, oxtail soup at 2.30."

Wilf and Sylvia just chuckled and went on to follow the ginger's schedule. However, Wilf looked back at the dematerializing box with teary eyes.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva, come inside already!" shouted a younger Isadora from her kitchen, dressed in complete black, "It's time for bed."

"In a minute..." called back a young Minerva, also dressed in pure black.

With a sigh, Isadora headed away, hoping her granddaughter would be able to come inside for the night.

Minerva, who was twelve years old, sat criss-crossed on the grass of her grandparent's - now grandmother's - backyard, underneath the dark sky of San Diego, a couple stars here and there. She had an apple on the grass on a spot beside her while she blankly looked up at the stars.

She heard a small crunch from behind followed by a small grunt, "Who's there?" she looked around.

"It's okay," the Doctor emerged from the side of the house, with his hands up in surrender.

"Grandma..." the small Minerva started getting up in fear.

"It's okay, you know me, remember?" he cautiously continued his way for her as she thought.

"You told me to go see Stacey..." she mumbled in remembrance.

"Yes, that's me," he spotted the apple on the grass and nodded in understanding, "You want to tell me what you're doing out here on this cold night?"

Minerva returned to her spot on the grass and sat down again, "I wanted to look at the stars."

"And the apple...?"

"It's for someone," Minerva's head hung low in despondence.

"He was a good man, you know," he knelt down beside her, reaching for the apple across him, "Alan Lozano."

"How do you know him?" Minerva watched the apple with teary eyes.

"Hm? Oh, well, we've met, years ago," he smiled and rubbed away the girl's tears from her face, "And you know what? He wouldn't want you to be this sad."

"He's dead..." she sniffled.

"But he's still looking out for you, remember? Oh Minerva, the things that are yet to come. You just wait and see, alright? You're going to have a lot of fun."

"When? I don't want to have fun without grandpa," she shook her head.

"One day, you're going to see all those stars he promised you were going to see. You'll have the time of your life, just you wait," he handed her back the apple and kissed her hair, "Now go inside and hug your grandmother really tight for me, yeah? She's lonely and she needs her little granddaughter to hug her. Can you do that for me?"

Minerva nodded and sniffled, "Okay."

"There we are," he stood up and helped her too.

She looked at her apple then at him with a curious look, "How do you know about the apple?"

The Doctor chuckled, stifling another grunt of pain he felt, "It's a secret. Now go," he gently pushed her off.

She took another look of him then ran inside the house. The Doctor slowly made his way out of the Lozano's house and into the street, where his current Clever Girl was waiting for him.

"You rewrote history you little sneak," she came up to him with a soft smile, "Thank you," she pressed her lips to his for a small kiss.

He wanted to respond but he lurched forwards in pain, reminding them of the situation. Quickly, Minerva helped him down the block, making a turn to see Ood-Sigma standing, "We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep."

The pair looked around as they heard a choir singing, the Ood singing.

"I can hear some of it..." Minerva whispered it, her teary eyes returning, "C'mon," she helped her Martian towards the TARDIS.

"This song is ending. But the story never ends," Ood-Sigma said as they reached the box.

Minerva opened the door for them and pulled the Doctor inside. As she closed the doors, the Doctor pulled himself along by the handrails all the way up to the console. He took off his coat and left it to hang upon the rails. Minerva sadly watched him raise his hand that was beginning to glow with the energy. He walked around the console and set the box to motion, leaning heavily on it while doing so.

"Martian..." Minerva sniffled and moved to meet him.

"...hey, thank you," he whispered to her, setting a hand over her cheek, "Thank you for everything; for this star-crossed story you gave me."

Minerva chuckled through her tears, "It's been a pleasure to."

"But the story is done and now we must face what comes next."

"And what's that?" Minerva suppressed a sob in her throat as she placed her hands on either side of his face.

"Let's find out," the Doctor shared a dim smile with her before kissing her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and responded, deepening the kiss as best she could through her tears. When they pulled away, they spared a look at each other for last moments.

"I love you," he gave her one last kiss.

"I love you too," she nodded and gave a small smile, "I'll be here, waiting for you," she looked at their hands that slowly broke apart as she backed away.

The Doctor took a look around and only five words came to mind when he though of the future, "I don't want to go."

He threw his head back and arms to the side as the energy took him over. Minerva set a hand over her stomach, feeling queasy suddenly. The regenerative energy became too much for the TARDIS and so actually caught on fire while beams collapsed.

Suddenly, a new Doctor emerged from the energy with a scream and a gasp, immediately taking notice of himself, "Legs. I've still got legs, good," he kissed his knee, "Arms. Hands. Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers. Ears, yes. Eyes, two. Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey. Hair..." he ran his hand through a much longer hair, "I'm a girl!" but he quickly retracted upon feeling his Adam's apple, "No! No... I'm not a girl," he pulled a piece of his hair to the front of his eyes and frowned, "And still not ginger! And something else, something important, I'm, I'm... I'm...ha! Crashing!" he exclaimed after an explosion.

But a gasp interrupted his moment.

He looked ahead and saw Minerva bathed in a silver glow. He opened his mouth but felt something quite funny within him. He looked down at himself and saw he was also glowing in the silver light. Minerva started breathing faster and heavier as the glow brightened. The glow around the Doctor seemed to start drifting towards Minerva, something that both intrigued and horrified him, mostly horrify though.

Minerva tilted her head up as she felt that queasy feeling taking her over, "Ah...ah..." she opened her mouth, "DOCTOR!" she screamed and threw her head back as the silver glow turned into a blast of energy that engulfed her entire body.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

To be continued in **_Shackles of Responsibilities_** (tentative name btw). Look for it around January 8 or 9 :)

Uh oh, what oh what was that little ending? Can anyone guess? ;) Yes, that's right, I am leaving you with a cliffhanger for Christmas! *evil laugh*

I want to thank everyone who read this story - both new and old readers. Thank you all for giving the story a check out and thank you to those who left reviews as well. It's always nice to hear what you think, whether it's constructive criticism or a simple 'awesome'. It gives me a warm feeling to know when a chapter is liked! I hope you'll continue reading the third story - it has 11! ^.^

 _For Reviews:_

Dude, absolutely understood! Writing it was no fun either! I just disliked Waters of Mars so much because it was too OOC for 10. Like seriously, the entire series (from 9 and up) it's been 'don't break the rules' and 'no, we can't, there are rules' and then in one episode the Doctor just goes mad with power? Nope. I don't buy it. I don't know, it's just what I thought. Yeah, I couldn't really see Minerva doing much there because she was still in the progress of learning everything she'd forgotten. Oh well, hope you liked this chapter anyways!

Me too! Time Lord Victorious must never return! Thank you lol sorry for the shudders! Well, I can't say yes or no to the baby thing but I can say that the theme is a big one for the next story, concerning Minerva's thoughts on it anyways. So you'll definitely be seeing some of those talks. Hope you liked the chapter above and Merry Christmas/New Years to you as well! :)

Sooo...to kind of make up for that cliffhanger...I may or may not have left a little present under the 'My Stories' tab ;). It's a One-shot of 12 and a different OC...you could check it out...or not...or yes? :)

Thank you and Merry Christmas and a happy New Years to everyone!


End file.
